February 16, 2004              

►February 16, 2004 - Brown confronts aid target critics - The Guardian, UK - "'We must act, not only because it is morally right but because it is now essential for stability and security,' they argue..By finding an extra $140m (£74m) a year for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, the Treasury estimates 2 million children's lives could be saved annually. The GAVI, backed by Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft, is estimated to have saved 500,000 lives since it began in 2000."

►February 16, 2004 - TB cases increase 20% in four years, report warns - The New Zealand Herald - "Tuberculosis - a potentially lethal disease that was nearly wiped out in New Zealand - is making a comeback...And those who think they are protected by vaccinations given between the 1960s and the 1980s should think again. The vaccine has been found to be only 50 per cent effective."

►February 12, 2004 - Child's Ear Piercing - Take Precaution - Doctors Warn Parents To Take Precautions When Getting Their Child’s Ears Pierced At An Early Age - www.healthnewsdigest.com

►February 15, 2004 - Raising their children's children - www.kentucky.com - The task force would look at proper legal relationships between grandparents and grandchildren; provision of financial assistance for grandparents; help in reducing barriers to school enrollment and in obtaining immunizations and health care for the children; counseling services for children; after-school care and tutoring; and respite care and stress-reduction programs for grandparents.

►February 16, 2004 - Pros and Cons of Hormone Replacement Therapy - Ivanhoe Newswire

►February 15, 2004 - Out of the shadows Multiple sclerosis reorders priorities but doesn't have to be a life sentence of pain and helplessness - San Francisco Chronicle

►February 16, 2004 - Producers say demand for poultry slumps - Gulf News

►February 16, 2004 - Final USDA BSE update - www.vidyya.com

►February 15, 2004 - Some epidemics don't make the front page - China Daily via  http://i-medreview.subportal.com - "The Ministry of Health said last week that in 2003 rabies was the most fatal of the 27 infectious diseases which must be reported to health authorities in China."

►February 16, 2004 - Effects on our health - http://thestar.com.my - "PREVENTING the emergence of infectious diseases is only one of the many benefits of biodiversity for human health. The degradation of natural ecosystems contributes to the spread of infectious diseases, said Dr Jeff McNeely, chief scientist of IUCN-World Conservation Union at a side event at COP-7...Dr McNeely said deforestation in Africa is playing a massive role in the spread of ebola among gorillas and chimpanzees, and that the disease can easily be transferred on to humans. He also said there should be more investigations into links between biodiversity and the recent rise in incidents of avian flu before countries implement massive culls of wild bird populations."

►February 1, 2004 - Management of Peripheral Arterial Disease - American Family Physician via  http://mentalhelp.net

2004- Abbott's Next Test: Winning Back Clients - www.chicagobusiness.com via  www.wbbm780.com

►February 1, 2004 - Osteomyelitis Outcomes After Antimicrobial Therapy - American  Family Physician via www.pharmacytimes.com

►February 15, 2004 - Bird-Brained Flu Hype - New York Post - "AVIAN flu, if it morphs into a human-to- human virus, could cause another worldwide epidemic like the one in 1918, when almost a billion people got sick, 50 million died and the Great War ground to a halt. This is the public health message that has been broadcast over the media megaphone recently...The U.S. public, tired of influenza from December's over-hyped outbreak, and not that concerned about health care in other countries to begin with, isn't buying this message. But because the public is sure to buy some later message about some other hyped bacteria or virus, we must look at how public health officials choose to inform - or misinform - us."

►February 14, 2004 - Database on blood and marrow stem cell transplants now available online -  www.vidyya.com 

►February 16, 2004 - Vaccines' Link To Autism Unclear (Risk Assessment) - Researchers present conflicting evidence over role of preservative - Chemical & Engineering News via http://pubs.acs.org - "There has been a long-running debate in the U.S. over whether vaccines routinely given to infants contribute to the development of autism.  In particular, some people believe that thimerosal -- sodium ethymercurithiosalicylate--until recently used as a preservative in most pediatric vaccines, may cause autism...On Feb. 9, researchers presented findings on the subject to the Immunization Safety Review Committee of the Institute of Medicine (IOM).  The information did not resolve the dispute."

►February 14, 2004 - Students learn about disabilities - Elementary school puts on ‘Togetherness Day’ for kids - The Post-Crescent

►February 14, 2004 - His world is worth knowing - Times Union - "Turns out he once had wanted to be a journalist, perhaps a sportswriter, but he couldn't do it...Because if he had to interact with people every day, something might be said that would cause his head to flail and his mouth to clamp onto his arm as he tried to regain control of himself...So Cohen, a 46-year-old Boston University graduate, can't work...He has Asperger syndrome, a form of autism that causes him to have difficulty socializing, to read more than an English Ph.D., and to experience occasional emotional outbursts, which occur infrequently now that he's older and on medication."

►February 13, 2004 - Carnegie Mellon scientist says new technologies boost bio-terrorism surveillance - Carnegie Mellon University via www.eurekalert.org 

►February 12, 2004 - GAO finds bioterror protection gaps - FCW.com 

►February 16, 2004 - Autism and Vaccines - Activists wage a nasty campaign to silence scientists. (requires registration or subscription) - The Wall Street Journal - "We felt someone ought to point out that nothing currently exists in the medical world to justify this furor--that thimerosal has never been credibly linked to autism, and that recent studies in leading medical journals have also failed to find a link. That research is one of many reasons the medical community remains solid in its belief that vaccines are safe...A few have harassed our secretaries and threatened an editorial writer."

Comment:  There is simply no excuse for intimidation.  None whatsoever.  The wrong-minded actions by others, however, do not absolve the Wall Street Journal of its own responsibility for publishing unscientific reports masquerading as self-righteous fact.  In spite of, or maybe because of, their smug indignation, the following question must asked:  Why does the WSJ continue to assume industry sponsored research is credible and simply deny the existence of any and all research that contradicts it?

►February 16, 2004 - 'Timebomb' vaccine fights cancer - A delayed-release system could help produce more effective vaccines against a number of diseases, including cancer. - BBC

►February 15, 2004 - State confirms avian flu in Lancaster County flock - The state Agriculture Department confirmed an outbreak of avian flu at a Lancaster County farm, but said the strain infecting the flock is not likely to be harmful to humans. - AP via Nepa News

►February 15, 2004 - China Finds More Bird Flu Ahead of Crisis Talks - Radio Free Asia

►February 16, 2004 - Ban on farm hit by avian flu may be lifted - The Japan Times

►February 16, 2004 - Bird Flu Outbreak Has Farmers Jittery (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times - "The influenza strain, known as H7, is not a danger to humans, and is not even particularly deadly for chickens. But if allowed to spread, health experts say, it can mutate into a more virulent strain for animals. Consequently, the state typically orders entire flocks destroyed when even a single bird becomes infected."

►February 16, 2004 - Flu illness 'may bring on asthma' - Catching flu early in life may actually increase the chances of a child developing asthma later, say experts. - BBC - "Their finding, in a study of mice, contradicts the suggestion that early infections have a protective effect...Writing in the journal Nature Immunology, the team from Stanford University say that flu boosted the body's allergic responses."

►February 16, 2004 - Don't let bird flu stop travel to hit areas, says Khaw - The Straits Times

►February 15, 2004 - Pennsylvania Confirms Avian Flu on Farm - AP via The Miami Herald

►February 16, 2004 - Bird-Flu Crisis: Boy, 13, becomes the sixth fatality - Father of Chaiyaphum victim says govt to blame for covering up the epidemic - The Nation

►February 16, 2004 - Industry to benefit from bird flu - Private and public sectors up spending - Bangkok Post

►February 16, 2004 - Prevention of bird flu cheap: Breeder - The Jakarta Post

►February 16, 2004 - Swift action effective in containing bird flu - Daily Yomiuri Online

►February 16, 2004 - Pervaiz praises anti-polio efforts - Pakistan Daily Times

►February 16, 2004 - Parents on notice immunisation change prompts warning - The Armidale Express

►February 15, 2004 - Study finds link between stronger immunity, exposure to dogs (requires registration) - KRT Wire via Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via The Kansas City Star - "Infants who have a certain gene and live with a dog have stronger immune systems than those who don't and are less likely to develop allergies or eczema, a University of Wisconsin-Madison research study shows...However, the authors warn that the results are still preliminary and say that parents shouldn't introduce pets into the household just to try to prevent potential allergies."

►February 16, 2004 - Aids drug may help in hepatitis B treatment - The Standard

►February 16, 2004 - Hypothyroidism: When the gland goes haywire - Sun.Star Davao

►February 16, 2004 - The Philippines cited for its anti-measles campaign - The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has cited the Philippines as the first country in Asia and one of the few in the world to aim for the elimination of measles, a major killer among children worldwide. - The Manilla Bulletin Online

Comment:  This misguided (and perhaps self-serving) notion that the mercury in vaccines is somehow safer than the mercury in fish, has been dealt perhaps a fatal blow by the recent Deth et al research, where it was found that "the form of mercury in vaccines can disrupt chemicals that are key to the developing brain".

►February 16, 2004 - Mercury list longer each year - The News-Press

►February 16, 2004 - Influenza is a bigger worry than avian flu - Tasmanian News via www.examiner.com.au

►February 16, 2004 - Blood disorder expert plans sickle cell talk - About one in 500 blacks have disease - The News-Press

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