January 15, 2004*          

Vaccine-related (including autism)

►January 15, 2004 - Polio Vaccine: the Great Deception - This Day (Lagos) - "Not too long ago, Professor Hussein Akande Abdulkareem of the Lagos State University gave a public to the Nigerian Council of Islamic Scholars lecture which was widely publicized in Nigerian newspapers. In the lecture, a lot of disturbing and misleading issues concerning the polio vaccine and the process of vaccination in general which could jeopardize the global polio vaccination programme in Nigeria were raised. If a Nigerian Biochemist in the 21st century could be claiming that vaccines could not be relied upon to boost the human immune system 205 years after Edward Jenner discovered the concept of vaccine and vaccination, it is rather unfortunate. It portrays the speed with which we are developing backwards."

►January 15, 2004 - Corixa, Glaxo to begin tests of TB vaccine - Bloomberg News via Seattle PI

►January 15, 2004 - B.C.-bred SARS vaccine trial gets a booster - U.S. expected to add money, facilities - Vancouver Sun via www.canada.com

►January 15, 2004 - 12th NID Jan 18 - The New Nation - "The 12th National Immunisation Day (NID) will be observed throughout the country on January 18 and February 29 to resist spread of Polio virus.  Health officials here yesterday sought cooperation from all quarters to make the forthcoming NID a complete success."

►January 14, 2004 - Counties have flu shots for high-risk children - The Holland Sentinel

►January 15, 2004 - Tender: DOH seeks supplier for systems for NHS Child Health Information Service -www.publictechnology.net - The Department of Health is seeking organisations which want to be included in the shortlist for the tender for the provision of address printer and mail sort systems for use by the NHS Child Health Information Service (CHIS) in England...The National Health Service (NHS) child health information system (CHIS) is a multi-purpose population-based computer system for child health. The system was originally developed in order to organise appointments, produce invitations with appointment times and record immunisation details."

►January 15, 2004 - Health data hint cuts may be made - State officials say document uses outdated figures - The Boston Globe - "Public health advocates yesterday released a document they say shows the state is weighing deep cuts in the budgets of such core medical initiatives as childhood immunizations and community health centers."

Autism-related, developmental/behavioral issues

"Vaccine-preventable" disease-related

►January 15, 2004 - Proper nutrition could help boost seniors' immunity to influenza - www.wistv.com - "Every year more than 30,000 people in the US die from influenza, and senior citizens could face the greatest risk. Researchers now say seniors can fight the flu just by eating right...Immune function declines as people get older, making it easier for viruses like the flu to put older people in the hospital. Some researchers have suggested a lack of essential nutrients as one possible reason for that drop in immunity."

►April 4, 2003 - Biological weapons sensor detects anthrax in two minutes - The Engineer via www.e4engineering.com

Other diseases/conditions (some already in the vaccine pipeline)

►January 6, 2004 - Leprosy in Toronto: an analysis of 184 imported cases - journal article (Canadian Medical Association Journal)

►January 15, 2004 - Study Links Leukemia, Gene Combination - Science Magazine via AP via The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - "Two children who developed leukemia after receiving gene therapy for an inherited disease may have been victims of a rare combination of genes that is unlikely to happen in gene therapy for other disorders, a study says...Researchers at the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Md., discovered that a gene in a virus used to treat the children, who had an inherited immune system disorder, can combine with another gene to cause leukemia in mice."

►January 15, 2004 - Public Citizen Press Releases - 1. Mad Cow Disease an Accident Waiting to Happen; 2. Public Citizen Report Describes Some of Maryland's Dangerous Doctors as Physicians Gear Up for a March on Annapolis

►January 7, 2004 - Cancer at Record High in UK - (requires registration) - Reuters Health via www.medscape.com

►January 14, 2004 - USDA Killing More Washington State Cows - AP via www.intelihealth.com - "As the search for potentially infected animals and feed entered its fourth week, Agriculture Department spokeswoman Julie Quick said Tuesday that USDA will soon order the killing of three cows on a Mattawa, Wash., farm that came from the same Alberta, Canada, herd as the infected Holstein."

►January 14, 2004 - U.S. rethinking rules on importing bovine tissues - Abilene Reporter-News - "Now that the United States has mad-cow disease, federal regulators are reconsidering long-held policies aimed at prohibiting importation of products or ingredients with bovine tissue or blood from countries with documented cases of the illness...The products include vaccines, nutritional supplements and cosmetics, all of which can contain ingredients derived from cows."

Comment:  Interesting dilemma.  If the ban is continued, we now would be unable to use our own products (at least, theoretically). 

►January 15, 2004 - Public Citizen Press Releases - 1. Mad Cow Disease an Accident Waiting to Happen; 2. Public Citizen Report Describes Some of Maryland's Dangerous Doctors as Physicians Gear Up for a March on Annapolis

►January 7, 2004 - The Political Economy of FDA Drug Review: Processing, Politics and Lessons for Policy - (requires registration) - Health Affairs www.medscape.com

►January 15, 2004 - Crucell Signs PER.C6 License Agreement with Biogen Idec - http://interestalert.com

►January 6, 2004 - Minimizing the Risk of Malpractice Claims - Introduction and The Malpractice Climate - (registration required) - ACS Surgery: Principles & Practice via www.medscape.com

Miscellaneous

►January 14, 2004 - Magazine Bares All, Has Shop Covering Up Cover - The Santa Fe New Mexican - "Increasing the number of women who nurse their babies is a goal of the U.S. government. But pictures of breast-feeding, which is as old as humankind and strongly recommended for infant health, is apparently offensive to some...After receiving several complaints about the latest issue of Mothering magazine, which shows a nursing mother and contented baby, the Vitamin Cottage on Cerrillos Road covered the offending breast with paper."

Comment:  This kind of thing is a big part of what's wrong with health in America.

►January 14, 2004 - The healing waters of Gasa - www.kuenselonline.com - "Located about two hours walk down hill from the dzong, beside the Mo chhu, Gasa tshachhu is believed to cure rheumatism, arthritis, ulcers, indigestion, skin diseases, even tuberculosis and other ailments."

►January 15, 2004 - Echinacea juice: Cold aid in jar? - Knight Ridder via The Charlotte Observer

►January 15, 2004 - Try these 13 powerful foods (requires registration) - The Los Angeles Times via The Charlotte Observer - "Eating well starts with good planning. Dr. Steven Pratt says forget the obsession with carbs, protein and fat. Focus instead on micronutrients, which include vitamins, minerals and other powerful plant chemicals."

►January 14, 2004 - Ancient DNA Mutations Permitted Humans To Adapt To Colder Climates, Researchers Find - University of California via ScienceDaily

►January 6, 2004 - UK Tightens Rules to Stop IVF Multiple Births - (requires registration) - Reuters Health via www.medscape.com

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