December 13, 2003 - Empire covers kids’ intranasal flu vaccine - Crain's New York Business - "Children aged 6 months to 9 years should receive two inoculations four weeks apart for full protection against the flu virus."

Comment:  This must be a mistake!  FluMist hasn't been approved for use by children aged 6 months to 5 years!

The latest Rapid responses to Hear the Silence - by Elliman and Bedford (BMJ)

The latest Rapid responses to Hear the Silence - by Fitzpatrick (BMJ)

December 18, 2003 - Bayh Proposes Flu Protection Law - WTWO News - "It would require the Centers for Disease Control to do a better job of predicting the number of flu shots needed each year."

December 18, 2003 - No autopsy sought for infant - The Cincinnati Enquirer - "Olivia had received half a dose of the flu vaccine this fall, the dosage recommended by her doctor, her parents said."

Comment:  Do vaccinated infants and children die because of the flu vaccine or in spite of it?  We'll never know the answer to this question until and unless properly designed population studies comparing the vaccinated to the never vaccinated are  conducted.

Pediarix - The First 5-in-1 Vaccine - advertisement - GSK - "Proven Safety - Proven safe in 12 clinical trials worldwide, in which 20,739 doses of PEDIARIX were administered to 7,028 infants"

Comment:  How long were these infants followed?  How many adverse effects were reported?  How many infants experienced at least one adverse reaction?  How many infants experienced at least one serious adverse reaction?  Given that incidence and/or long-term effects of these diseases are more or less infrequent (depending on the disease), how do the long-term consequences of the diseases compare to the long-term consequences of the vaccines among infants living in developed nations?

December 18, 2003 - Why U.S. supply of flu vaccine fell short - Knight Ridder via The Seattle Times - "What went wrong?...U.S. health officials and drug companies say it was mostly bad luck, and the difficulties inherent in making vaccines...Critics say it was flawed decisions by both of the above. And they say officials should be more candid that this year's flu vaccine was formulated to protect against three older strains of the virus, but not against the new strain racing across the country."

December 19, 2003 - Vaccine shortage a question of timing - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - "If international health officials had discovered the Fujian strain of influenza a little earlier or if manufacturers had been able to speed up production, perhaps there would have been time enough to make a vaccine that was both the right type and the right quantity...That's not the case now."

December 18, 2003 - EBay pulls plug on sale of flu shots - The Boston Globe - "'Sure, this is unethical, but it's not a lot different from stuff we do in medicine every day,' Annas said."

December 12, 2003 - New HIV Vaccine Trial Here - New York Blade - "Only nine months after VaxGen reported disappointing results for its AIDS vaccine, the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) are stepping up to the plate...The two groups will test a DNA-based vaccine, called Advax, on healthy, non-HIV infected volunteers in New York and Rochester. The vaccine is specifically targeted at the “C” strain of HIV, the greatest risk to people in China and developing nations where HIV infection rates are skyrocketing."

December 17, 2003 - Race May Be Factor in Who Gets Flu Shots - HealthDayNews via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - "Older black Americans have drastically lower flu vaccination rates than older white Americans, says a Duke University Medical Center study in the online journal BioMed Central Public Health."

December 18, 2003 - Youth vaccine may see US shortage again, CDC says - Reuters via Forbes - "A childhood vaccine that has been in short supply in recent years may once again be hard to get, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday...The CDC said vaccine maker Wyeth was finding that production constraints of Prevnar could cause delays in shipments in the first or second quarters of 2004."

December 19, 2003 - Extra flu vaccines available for high-risk children - AP via www.kaaltv.com

December 19, 2003 - Flu is now rampant in 36 states, CDC says - Tens of thousands may die. A true toll will be hard to get since many never go to the doctor. - AP via The Philadelphia Inquirer

Comment:  Probably didn't go to the doctor because they got over it just fine without one.

December 19, 2003 - RM50 Million Project to Help Local Scientists Make Vaccines for the World - New Straits Times (Malaysia) via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 19, 2003 - U.S. Faces Shortage in Meningitis Vaccine - Wall Street Journal  via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 18, 2003 - eBay Pulls Plug on Sale of Flu Shots - Boston Globe  via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 17, 2003 - Hong Kong Researchers Say They Have Safer, Cheaper Method for Developing SARS Vaccine - Associated Press via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 17, 2003 - Cost of Vaccine for Flu Soars - St. Louis Post-Dispatch via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 17, 2003 - India May Begin AIDS Vaccine Trials in Mid-2004 - Reuters via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 17, 2003 - Killer Disease Wiped Out by Free Vaccines - Irish Independent via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 17, 2003 - Pharmaceuticals Giant Unveils SARS Vaccine Effort - Agence France Presse via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 16, 2003 - State Using Pneumonia-Prevention Money to Pay for Flu Vaccines - Associated Press  via  www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 17, 2003 - India May Begin AIDS Vaccine Trials in Mid-2004 - Reuters

December 15,  2003 - U.S. buys Chiron, Wyeth flu vaccines - Reuters

December 15, 2003 - Gambia: Anti-Measles Campaign for 740, 000 Gambian Children - The Independent via www.allafrica.com

December 15, 2003 - Health Beat: Flu Vaccine Concerns - www.keloland.com

December 15, 2003 - Anthem now will pay for FluMist vaccine - This season, several health insurers cover it - Cincinnati Enquirer

December 15, 2003 - MedImmune Benefits From 'Free Advertising' - Forbes

December 15, 2003 - Nigerian president hits out at rumours over WHO polio vaccines - AFP via Yahoo!

December 15, 2003 - Decision on flu vaccine sickens experts - AP via The Buffalo News

December 12, 2003 - Nigerian Muslims refuse polio vaccine - UPI via The Washington Times

December 12, 2003 - Flu vaccine decision difficult to make - UPI via The Washington Times

December 12, 2003 - Area officials: Fears of flu fueled vaccine shortage - Fond Du Lac Reporter

December 19, 2003 - All women in Scots jails to get MMR jab - Evening Times, UK

December 18, 2003 - Hong Kong Scientists Work on SARS Vaccine - AP via Newsday

Influenza Virus Vaccine - Fluzone® 2003 -2004 Formula (pdf)

December 18, 2003 - More Than Flu Vaccine Shortages - JAMA via Ivanhoe Newswire via www.drkoop.com - "In their new report, NVAC members say, beginning in late 2000, significant "unprecedented and unanticipated" shortages of routinely administered vaccines occurred in the United States. They say 11 childhood diseases are routinely prevented through vaccinations. Of those, eight vaccines were undersupplied."

December 2003 - HIV vaccine candidate fails in Thailand trials - VaxGen’s vaccine candidate was not effective in preventing HIV or slowing the progress of HIV. (requires registration) - Infectious Disease News - "The vaccine candidate did not show efficacy for either primary or secondary endpoints, company officials said, the primary endpoint being the prevention of HIV infection. The secondary endpoints concerned whether vaccination slowed disease progression in those who later contracted HIV. The vaccine candidate appeared well tolerated with no serious adverse events related to the vaccine."

December 2003 - Outbreak calls attention to need for hepatitis A vaccination - Extending immunization nationwide could reduce the number of primary cases of hepatitis A by 54% and the number of secondary cases by 76%. (requires registration) - Infectious Disease News

December 2003 - Polio outbreak in Nigeria raises red flag - A $10 million immunization campaign was recently waged to help stop the outbreak and promote eradication of poliovirus. (requires registration) - Infectious Disease News

December 2003 - Pandemic flu vaccine trials and reverse genetics: foundation for effective response to next pandemic  - NIH officials are hoping to ensure an adequate global supply of influenza vaccine. (requires registration) - Infectious Disease News - "When the last influenza pandemic occurred in 1968, the NIH conducted several clinical trials of inactivated vaccines. The studies had little practical impact because few doses of influenza vaccine were then being used in the United States and other countries. The current situation is very different. In the United States, approximately 90 million doses of influenza vaccine will be used this year. Vaccine coverage among the elderly exceeds 65%, vaccination is increasing among younger adults and recommendations have recently been issued strongly encouraging vaccination of children."

Report of the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) Canine Vaccine Task Force: 2003 Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Recommendations, and Supporting Literature via www.dogs4sale.com.au - "The evolution of biologics represents a continuum of advances encompassing efficacy, safety, and usage.  Early vaccines did not enjoy the same safety and efficacy profiles of currently available products, often resulting in adverse reactions or short durations of immunity (DOI).  The resulting recommendations for revaccination reflected these product limitations, and most of the widely accepted recommendations for revaccination were based on a 'better safe than sorry' approach because the diseases these vaccines were designed to prevent were widespread and devastating."

June 2003 - Neurodevelopmental Disorders after Thimerosal-Containing Vaccines: A Brief Communication - journal article (Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine)

December 17, 2003 - The puzzle of autism - Congress will vote on a bill that could curtail the right to an education for disabled students; That is not the answer - The Mercury-News via www.bayarea.com

December 19, 2003 - Delaware senator´s letter to Bush criticizes mercury emission plan - www.wastenews.com

Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism - Institute of Medicine - meeting alert - "The ninth meeting of the Immunization Safety Review Committee will be held on February 9, 2004, at the Keck Center of the National Academies, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, Room 100. This meeting will be part of the information gathering process of the committee and is open to the public." 

December 16, 2003 - Governor's plan targets disabled - San Francisco Chronicle

December 16, 2003 - Repligen Affirms Data Release Timeline for Phase 3 Clinical Trial of Secretin - Repligen Corporation via PRNewswire-FirstCall via www.omniomix.com

December 17, 2003 - Problems in Learning Can Be Difficult to Diagnose - The Augusta Chronicle via  www.healthy.net

December 15, 2003 - Parents campaign to help autistic son - Bucks Free Press, UK

December 13, 2003 - A growing interest in new schools -A dozen charter proposals compete for state grants - Concord Monitor

The Power of 1.5 Political Action Conference - sponsored by Unlocking Autism, Cure Autism Now, The GRACE Foundation of New York, Talk Autism, The Doug Flutie Foundation and the Dan Marino Foundation - www.unlockingautism.org - conference alert - April 21-23, 2004 in Washington, DC - "WHY: Because approximately 1.5 million people in the United States have an autism spectrum disorder.  Simple math tells us that close to 10 million people, most likely registered voters, are related in some way to these children and adults and are significantly concerned about their well being.  That is a lot of power and that is a lot of votes that when harnessed could very well grab the attention of the next President of the United States."

December 17, 2003 - Schafer Autism Report

December 18, 2003 - Comments re: Flu outbreak worst in 30 years in the West, experts say - The Daily Herald

December 17, 2003 - Health council: Flu not a crisis - www.mass.gov via www.townonline.com - "There is no precise count of flu cases in the state because so few illnesses are reported to doctors, but officials said they have investigated 17 outbreaks - identified as three to five cases clustered in one location - mostly in nursing homes but also in several schools. Emergency rooms, already crowded with slip-and-fall accidents after a week of icy weather, are nearing capacity, with many reporting a spike in flu cases, health officials said."

December 18, 2003 - Experts: Flu worst in 30 years in West - Could be worse that Hong Kong flu of 1968-69 - AP via Daily Southtown - "The current flu outbreak is the worst for young U.S. children in years, several experts say, perhaps worse in Western states than the Hong Kong flu of 1968-69...A government epidemiologist and other disease doctors predict flu deaths among babies and toddlers will exceed the estimated 92 who die in an average flu year."

December 12, 2003 - Update: Influenza Activity --- United States, 2003--04 Season - CDC/MMWR

December 19, 2003 - Flu is spreading but exact numbers are hard to pin down - AP via Sun-Sentinel - "How many will have died when it is over? Probably tens of thousands. Beyond that, exact numbers are hard to pin down...The reason: Most people who catch the flu never go to a doctor. And even if they do, they usually never get a definite diagnosis...The flu is difficult to distinguish from other winter viruses. In most cases, there is little reason for doctors to go to the trouble of identifying the culprit, which traditionally has required growing the virus in a culture, a process that takes two weeks...Even if they do, chances are good they will find nothing."

Comment:  But, hey, why should the fact that we don't know if it is an epidemic, or if more or less people are dying than usual, or even if it is flu that people are getting, prevent the media and others from creating hysterical demand for the flu vaccine? 

December 19, 2003 - Influenza Spreads to 36 States But Does Not Rise to Epidemic - New York Times via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 17, 2003 - When the flu hits children, what do you do? - AP via Daily Southtown

December 17, 2003 - Over-the-counter remedies won't stop killer cases of the flu - Daily Southtown

December 17, 2003 - Tri-state Health Officials Comment On Flu - www.wcpo.com

December 17, 2003 - Flu panic proves contagious - www.townonline.com

December 17, 2003 - Janesville Schools Say Whooping Cough Cases False Alarm - Officials Misread Test Results - AP via www.channel3000.com

December 17, 2003 - Whooping cough report misread - www.gazetteextra.com

December 14, 2003 - RP’s measles elimination campaign - The Manila Bulletin

December 15, 2003 - Whooping cough hitting teenagers - Jeffrey Collick never "whooped." - The Philadelphia Inquirer

December 15, 2003 - First confirmation of secondary hepatitis A cases - AP via http://pennlive.com

December 18, 2003 - Flu spreads across U.S. but no epidemic yet: CDC - Reuters - "Influenza is now widespread in 36 U.S. states and has been found in all 50, but the outbreak is not yet an epidemic, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday...People may be filling hospital emergency rooms thinking they have flu, but only about a third of suspect cases actually are influenza, the CDC said in its weekly report on death and disease."

December 15, 2003 - Asthma strikes hard at flu time - The Sacramento Bee via The Modesto Bee

December 15, 2003 - Two N.C. boys dead from flu complications - AP via http://newsobserver.com

December 12, 2003 - Whooping cough confirmed - North Adams Transcript

December 12, 2003 - Judge approves new guidelines for Chi-Chi's hepatitis claims - AP via www.timesleader.com

December 10, 2003 - Clinics unmask new flu efforts - Area hospitals want patients to cover faces - The Post Crescent

December 10, 2003 - Doctors warn of whooping cough - www.wfsb.com

December 10, 2003 - Denali nurse works to eradicate polio - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

December 10, 2003 - Hospitals rein in flu - Sneezing, coughing patients asked to wear masks - The Daily Herald

December 11, 2003 - Flu kills teen: Fatal virus suspected - Boston Herald

December 10, 2003 - Only lone case of flu strikes in Stanislaus - The Modesto Bee

December 10, 2003 - State investigates whether 2-year-old Winnetka boy died of flu - Chicago Sun-Times

December 18, 2003 - Flu spurs changes to Communion practices - Oakland Tribune

December 18, 2003 - Flu-research money lags other diseases - Knight Ridder Tribune via Tallahassee Democrat - "The flu kills about 36,000 Americans a year, but the federal government spends only about half as much money on research to fight it as it spends to attack the boll weevil, a pest that eats cotton."

December 18, 2003 - A wave of flu cases is hitting Michigan - Health officials say illness is near its peak  - Detroit Free Press

December 18, 2003 - One in three children could get flu this winter - www.ananova.com

December 2003 - Human death associated with raccoon rabies - Failure to recall an exposure to an infected animal can complicate treatment efforts. (requires registration) - Infectious Disease News

December 17, 2003 - SARS case in lab worker - Taiwan man working in military lab contracted the virus in early December - The Scientist

December 18, 2003 - Case of Ill Researcher Underlines Dangers in SARS Laboratories - The New York Times

December 18, 2003 - AIDS Is Cutting African Life Span to 30-Year Low, Report Says - Reuters via The New York Times

December 1, 2003 - Management of Antiretroviral Therapy in Neonates, Children, and Adolescents - journal article (Current Infectious Disease Reports)

December 19, 2003 - Laboratories get warning on handling SARS samples - The Japan Times

December 17, 2003 - Gates Foundation Gives $10 Million for Malaria Research - Associated Press via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 17, 2003 - Potential anti-cancer agents found in red wine - Pharmaceutical treasure trove may lurk at the bottom of the bottle - Nature

December 17, 2003 - Pesky bed bugs spark public warning - Now plaguing local shelters; private homes could be next - Resurgence in the medieval bugs a worldwide phenomenon - The Toronto Star

December 17, 2003 - Traveling not always a healthy affair - Scripps Howard News Service via  Abilene Reporter-News

December 17, 2003 - Does Asthma Drug Trigger Attacks? - CBS News

December 17, 2003 - Chlamydia Linked to Cervical Cancer Risk - American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology via Reuters Health via Medline

December 15, 2003 - Ten percent of state's adults have diabetes, report says - AP via Athens Banner-Herald

December 15, 2003 - CDC launches e-journal on chronic diseases - AP via www.accessnorthga.com

December 15, 2003 - It may may not be perfect, but cancer diagnosis has come a long way - The Scotsman

December 15, 2003 - New Breakthrough In Diabetes Care - (subscription required) - Aventis Announces Launch of Lantus? in United Arab Emirates - www.zawya.com/

December 15, 2003 - Sunscreen does not increase melanoma risk - Reuters Health via www.ivillagehealth.com

December 15, 2003 - Mom's Vitamin D Intake Cuts Baby's Diabetes Risk - Reuters Health

December 15, 2002 - Cod-liver Oil for Babies Can Ward Off Diabetes - Daily Mail via www.healthy.net

December 18, 2003 - Aids toll cuts African lifespan - Life expectancy is falling in many parts of Africa due to the Aids epidemic, says a report from the World Health Organization. - BBC

December 18, 2003 - WHO Calls for Boost in Basic Health Care - AP via Yahoo! - "Global efforts to battle HIV (news - web sites)/AIDS (news - web sites) and slash infant mortality rates will flounder unless the international community boosts basic medical care in poor countries, the U.N. health agency said Thursday...Campaigns against individual diseases are essential, but policy-makers also must focus on overall health services because neglecting them increases the risk that epidemics will spread across national borders, the World Health Organization (news - web sites) said in its annual report."

December 18, 2003 - Fighting Childhood Cancer - HealthDayNews via Yahoo! - "Survival rates for children's cancer in the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland are the best in Europe, says a new report."

December 18, 2003 - Gene finding could lead to HIV drug development - http://uk.gay.com

December 18, 2003 - Gates Foundation Awards Grant to Center - AP via Newsday

December 18, 2003 - WHO report shows life expectancy discrepancies - Of particular note is impact of AIDS - Boston Globe - "At a time when a girl born in Japan can expect to live until 85 and a girl born in Massachusetts can expect to live until 81, a girl in Sierra Leone can only expect to live until 36...The World Health Organization calls that a travesty in a report on global health to be released today."

December 18, 2003 - China's Ministry of Health declares mainland China SARS free - Interfax-China

December 18, 2003 - Homeland Insecurity - Mother Jones - "Efforts by the U.S. government to create an effective, comprehensive strategy against terrorist attacks have lost momentum, while Americans, paradoxically, have become complacent about the terrorist threat. So says a federal report released this week."

December 18, 2003 - Taiwan SARS Case Doesn't Worry Officials - AP via The Philadelphia Inquirer - "In fact, no SARS has been reported in any known contacts of the 44-year-old military scientist diagnosed in Taiwan, said World Health Organization spokeswoman Maria Cheng. Nearly 100 people in Taiwan and Singapore have been quarantined because they were exposed to the man."

December 2003 - Epidemiology of a killer coronavirus - SARS had a sudden onset and a quick departure from the public stage, but it left behind a lasting impression. (requires registration) - Infectious Disease News

December 2003 - Syphilis rates up for second straight year (requires registration) - Infectious Disease News

December 2003 - We have only just begun to fight the war against AIDS - However, AIDS is a problem with a solution, said the UNAIDS executive director. (requires registration) - Infectious Disease News

December 2003 - Genital ulcers increase during and after acquiring HIV infection - Findings suggest treatment of herpes important in treating HIV and preventing transmission. (requires registration) - Infectious Disease News

December 18, 2003 - Scientists urged to take responsibility for bioterrorism (requires registration) - BioMedNet - "As Nobel Laureate Paul Berg describes the state of security at 'Anti-Plague Institutes' in some countries of the former Soviet Union as "scandalous", David Franz, Director of the US National Agricultural Biosecurity Center, calls on scientists to take responsibility for controlling the threat of bioterrorism...Thousands of vials of the plague organism Yersinia pestis, and hundreds of vials of Bacillus anthrax and other dangerous pathogens, continue to reside in poorly guarded fridges and freezers of the Anti-Plague Institutes, according to Raymond Zilinskas of the Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, California, who is due to publish a report on the subject...Staff responsible for maintaining the stocks receive salaries as low as US$30 per month, which poses the possibility that terrorists could easily gain unauthorized access through bribery, says Zilinskas."

December 2003 - Newly approved drugs in 2003 - Perhaps the most interesting newly approved agent for 2003 is daptomycin. (requires registration) - Infectious Disease News

December 2003 - SARS - Beginning To Understand A New Virus - journal article (Nature Reviews Microbiology)

December 18, 2003 - Ex - Doctor Claims Pap Tests Were Falsified - AP via The New York Times - "The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center certified thousands of Pap tests when they were never reviewed by physicians, putting an unknown number of women at risk of diseases that may have gone undetected, two lawsuits allege."

December 2001 - Pharma Buys a Conscience - Provincial Health Ethics Network - "Why pharmaceutical companies want the goodwill of doctors is no great mystery. The surprise is why they want the goodwill of someone like me. I am a philosophy professor, and I work at a bioethics center...The issue of corporate money has become something of an embarrassment within the bioethics community. Bioethicists have written for years about conflicts of interest in scientific research or patient care yet have paid little attention to the ones that might compromise bioethics itself."

December 18, 2003 - Tobacco industry's 'grab 'em young' methods exposed - The Independent, UK - "The cynical and exploitative methods used by tobacco companies to market cigarettes and snare a new generation of addicts were laid bare for the first time yesterday with the publication on the internet of thousands of previously confidential documents."

December 12, 2003 - J&J, Watson Get Subpoenas as Drug Makers Targeted - Reuters via Yahoo! - "Johnson & Johnson and Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. on Friday said they received subpoenas in separate probes of the way they promote their drugs, a reminder that drugmakers are squarely in the crosshairs of U.S. investigators."

December 20, 2003 - The power of stories over statistics - journal article (BMJ)

December 20, 2003 - The midwife, the coincidence, and the hypothesis - journal article (BMJ)

December 10, 2003 - Sanford Jr. buys land just before he learns of Merck interest - AP via http://newsobserver.com/

December 18, 2003 - Merck says it will shift some local work to N.C. - The Philadelphia Inquirer

December 18, 2003 - Cot death expert to face inquiry - The cot death expert at the centre of a series of high profile cases against women accused of killing their babies is to face a professional conduct committee. - BBC

December 18, 2003 - UK Cot Death Expert May Face Misconduct Charge - Reuters via Yahoo! - "A British pediatrician whose testimony on cot death helped jail mothers accused of murdering their babies could face charges, which, if proved, could amount to serious professional misconduct, a disciplinary body said on Thursday...The General Medical Council, the statutory body that regulates the medical profession, said its preliminary proceedings committee had 'considered allegations' against Professor Sir Roy Meadow...'The committee determined that the allegations, if proved, would raise a question of serious professional misconduct, which could affect his fitness to practice,' it said in a statement."

December 11, 2003 - AMDL Comments on Canadian Lawsuit - PRNewswire-FirstCall via http://finance.lycos.com

December 15, 2003 - Burden of Proof - Trial lawyers and taxes are crushing manufacturing. - www.nationalreview.com

December 19, 2003 - King/Drew Failure Cited in 3rd Death   A patient who died Sunday was not being monitored properly, officials say. The fatality is similar to two others. - Los Angeles Times - "While the vital signs of a patient attached to a cardiac monitor declined this week, doctors and nurses at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center apparently failed to intervene, and the patient later died, health officials said Thursday...It appears to have been the third such death at the hospital since July."

December 18, 2003 - Va. Hospital Accidentally Kills Patient - AP via Yahoo! - "One patient died and another was injured when nurses at Mary Washington Hospital accidentally gave them lethal doses of a narcotic painkiller, state health records show...The incidents occurred in July after the nurses incorrectly programmed the patients' medication pumps, according to the records obtained by The Free Lance-Star of Fredericksburg. The patients received doses nearly 50 times the recommended level."

December 18, 2003 - U.S. judge dismisses military lawsuit - He says 1950 doctrine prevents family's effort - Detroit Free Press - "Even the judge who threw out the case said there ought to be a better law...But under the Feres Doctrine of 1950, a family apparently can't sue the U.S. military for neglect in the questionable death of a boot camp recruit."

December 17, 2003 - Ohio Man Wants to Sue Over Botched Test - AP via The New York Times - "A man whose surgically removed lymph node spoiled before it could be tested for cancer wants the Ohio Supreme Court to allow patients to sue doctors and hospitals over the anguish of wondering if a treated disease will return...Attorneys for John Dobran argue he should be able to recover pain-and-suffering damages now that he has lost his best chance of knowing for sure whether cancer cells lurk somewhere in his body...But Dayton Clinical Oncology Program, the physician practice Dobran sued, argues the case would set a precedent for a flood of patient lawsuits, driving up medical costs. The practice asked the justices to reverse an appeals court ruling that the case should go to trial."

December 20, 2003 - Providing the world with clean water - Remains a complex problem, but time is running out - journal article (BMJ)

December 20, 2003 - Audit of soap usage by a primary care team - "Much discussion has taken place in the medical press recently about the role of handwashing in preventing the transmission of infection in hospital settings. Transmission of infection is also recognised in the primary care setting.¹ Semmelweis showed 150 years ago that if doctors performing necropsies washed their hands before delivering babies a reduction in mortality (from 22% to 3%) due to streptococcal puerperal sepsis could be achieved.² Many studies since have confirmed that doctors washing their hands between patients can reduce the rates of healthcare acquired infection.³ It has become widely accepted that nurses perform better than doctors at this simple measure to prevent cross infection.⁴ I was unable to find references to any attempt to quantify this and decided to perform an audit of the consumption of handwash soap from soap dispensers that were situated next to the sinks of members of the primary care team.^"  - journal article (BMJ)

December 20, 2003 - Possible interaction between warfarin and cranberry juice  - journal article (BMJ)

December 17, 2003 - Older Sperm Are More Damaged, U.S. Study Shows - Reuters via Yahoo!

December 19, 2003 - UK ' behind best' on child cancer - Childhood cancer survival rates in some other European countries outstrip those in the UK, say new figures.  - BBC

December 17, 2003 - WHO Report Shows Life Expectancy Discrepancies - Boston Globe via www.immunizationinfo.org (abstract)

December 19, 2003 - Snakes, ladders, and spin - HARLOT plc: an amalgamation of the world's two oldest professions - journal article (BMJ) - "It has finally dawned on us that being good and being poor are causally related: being good doesn't pay. Accordingly, we have decided that it's time for us to find out whether being bad pays better. We're combining the world's oldest and second oldest professions, cashing in on our reputations, and distributing this confidential prospectus for our new company, HARLOT plc. ^"

December 17, 2003 - Why tai chi? For the health of it - Press of Atlantic City

December 16, 2003 - Where parents can find help online - Scripps Howard News Service

December 18, 2003 - Proper Pregnancy Weight Gain Benefits Mom, Baby - Reuters via Yahoo!

December 15, 2003 - Health minister reminds nation of benefits of exercise - Taipei Times via http://th.gio.gov.tw

December 15, 2003 - 'Lots of sleep is good for your health' - Sapa-DPA, Paris via www.iol.co.za

December 15, 2003 - Uninsured pose risk to public health -Doctors worry that they are likely to spread disease in epidemics because of inaccessibility or fear of treatment. - St. Petersburg Times

December 15, 2003 - More research needed on peanut allergies: study - Canadian Press

December 12, 2003 - In the battle for hope, you can help (requires fee) - The Buffalo News

December 12, 2003 - Guest Viewpoint: Verdict unfair to dedicated doctors - The Register-Guard

December 11, 2003 - Forum to discuss spread of disease in prisons - http://breakingnews.iol.ie

December 11, 2003 - Commissioners fight back against mandates - Seguin Gazette

December 18, 2003 - Study evaluates herb for hot flashes - The Manchester Enterprise

December 20, 2003 - BMJ Table of Contents

*Note:  Starting December 10, 2003 news will be posted in the "daily news" pages based on when it was posted on this website, not by publication date.