Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of The HealthDay Service
Smallpox Vaccine Stockpile Grows, But Few Communities Prepared to Give Shots
There may be enough smallpox vaccine to protect millions of Americans, but when it comes to handling the logistics of
delivering vaccinations in a bioterror attack, many U.S. communities are woefully unprepared, federal experts warn.
At a meeting of the Secretary's Council on Public Health Preparedness for the Department of Health and Human Services
yesterday, bioterrorism advisers said many communities lack the "sense of urgency" that is needed to better prepare for a possible
bioterror attack, reports MSNBC.
While the government has quickly responded to the threat with enough smallpox vaccines for 75 million people and more on the
way, many communities have yet to determine how or where they would set up vaccination clinics, who would administer the shots
and how the public would be informed about potential health risks from the vaccine.
Still, the nation is significantly better prepared to respond to a bioterror attack than it was prior to the anthrax attacks last fall,
officials noted. And Health and Human Services secretary Tommy Thompson cited the distribution of $1 billion to state and local
governments for terrorism preparation as a key improvement.
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Ground Cumin Recalled in South Florida
Bottles of ground cumin made by American Spice Co. and sold in South Florida are being recalled because of the possibility of salmonella
contamination, reports the Associated Press.
The bacteria was detected in a routine sampling by the Food and Drug Administration. No illnesses have been reported.
The recall is for two-ounce bottles bearing the lot number 03162002.
Salmonella symptoms usually occur 12-72 hours after ingestion of contaminated food or water. They can last up to a week. The most common symptoms are onset of severe headaches, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, low grade fever and muscle aches. Most susceptible are children, the elderly and those with weakened
immune systems.
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Two Illinois Deaths Add to West Nile Toll
The national death toll from West Nile virus continues to rise, with the state of Illinois reporting confirming two more deaths from
the mosquito-borne virus, bringing the total deaths in that state to four.
Illinois health officials said the latest two cases involved an 83-year-old Chicago man, who died Aug. 21, and a 92-year-old
woman from the city's north suburbs, who died Saturday. Both victims had encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain associated with
West Nile.
In what has become the largest outbreak of West Nile since the disease was first detected in the United States in 1999, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there have been 453 human cases of the illness and 21 confirmed deaths, not
including the two new Illinois deaths.
While most cases have been reported in the South, diagnoses have been made in 20 states and the District of Columbia, reports the Associated Press.
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New Medicare Plan Includes Out-of-Network Option
Under an experimental Medicare option, participants will be allowed to sign up for a type of managed care plan that allows them to visit doctors out of network but pay more for the privilege, the federal government says.
The new option emulates so-called PPOs (preferred provider organizations), which are more flexible than HMOs in letting participants visit out-of-network doctors. Nearly half of all Americans under 65 now belong to PPOs, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson tells the Associated Press.
The Medicare option also will include prescription drug coverage outside hospitals, which has never been available from Medicare.
Some 11 million elderly Americans will be eligible to sign up for the new option beginning in November, with coverage starting Jan. 1, 2003. The AP reports that the option will be available in all or parts of 23 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington.
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Soda Banned in All L.A. Schools
In an effort to combat the growing problems of childhood obesity and diabetes, the Los Angeles Unified School District has voted to ban soda in all of its schools.
The ban, which affects 748,000 students at 677 schools, takes effect in January 2004, reports the Associated Press. Still permitted in the schools are water, milk, drinks that contain at least 50 percent fruit juice, and 20-ounce sports drinks with less than 42 grams of sugar.
Some 30 percent of the state's children are actually overweight or at risk of being overweight, according to the California Center for Public Health Advocacy.
Though a recent Massachusetts study found that sugared drinks increase a child's chances of becoming obese, other studies have failed to find any link, the AP reports.
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FDA Warns Docs About CryoLife Heart Valves
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning surgeons to steer clear of human heart valves distributed by CryoLife Inc. of Kennesaw, Ga., The New York Times reports.
The company has about 70 percent of the market in these valves, the newspaper says.
Two weeks ago, the agency ordered CryoLife to recall all donated human tissue used to repair knees and other joints, citing the risk of deadly bacterial and fungal infection. The company's tissues have been implicated in one death and at least 25 dangerous infections. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is investigating cases of infection among heart valves, the Times reports, though the CDC won't name the companies involved. The FDA says at least two of the valves under investigation are CryoLife's, reports the newspaper.
CryoLife has provided human heart valves for 41,000 patients since 1984. A company spokesman tells the Times that CryoLife has never labeled its products as sterile, stressing that it is impossible to guarantee complete sterility.
The American Heart Association says 96,000 American had new heart valves implanted last year. Other than human valves, patients may be candidates for valves derived from synthetic materials, pigs, or cows, the newspaper reports.
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