Take Precautions To Avoid Tick Bites
The arrival of warmer weather means ticks have arrived in Lambton County and residents need to take precautions from being bitten. Sat, 10 May 2008 10:56:07 -0500
Consumers Warned Against Ayurvedic Medicinal Products
Health Canada is reminding consumers who choose to use unapproved Ayurvedic medicinal products that some of these products may contain high levels of heavy metals. Sat, 10 May 2008 10:55:23 -0500
FDA Approves First Generic Ropinirole
FDA has approved the first generic versions of Requip tablets for the treatment of moderate to severe Restless Legs Syndrome. Sat, 10 May 2008 10:53:38 -0500
Medicare To Protect Beneficiaries In Advantage, Prescription Programs
Medicare proposes new way to protect Medicare beneficiaries in Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Programs and tightens marketing standards protecting beneficiaries from inappropriate cost sharing. Sat, 10 May 2008 10:46:58 -0500
Barr Announces Approval Of Generic Yasmin
Barr Laboratories has received final approval from FDA for ANDA to manufacture and market a generic version of Yasmin, an oral contraceptive product manufactured and marketed by Bayer Schering Pharma, AG. Sat, 10 May 2008 09:48:57 -0500
Tobacco Use Rises Among Women
Study shows marked benefits for many who quit, but millions who don't are expected to die of tobacco-related illness Mon, 12 May 2008 12:51:00 +0200
Health Officials Battling Child Disease in China
Officials say they are working closely to combat severe form of intestinal virus that has already killed 28 children, infected thousands more Mon, 12 May 2008 12:51:00 +0200
FDA Approves New Formulation Of Coagulation Therapy
FDA approved a new formulation of the genetically engineered version of Factor VIIa, a plasma protein essential for the clotting of blood. Sat, 10 May 2008 09:52:40 -0500
Common Allergy Tests Are Not Interchangeable
Data published in Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology revealed variations in the results of three common allergy diagnostic blood tests used to quantify sensitivities to allergens. Sat, 10 May 2008 09:49:39 -0500
Artificial Insemination Increasingly Second Choice
California fertility specialists are edging away from a traditional and well-known infertility treatment -- artificial insemination -- saying newer and improving in vitro fertilization technology tends to cost less and work far better in the long run, ultimately saving patients time, money and he... Fri, 09 May 2008 10:33:03 -0500
Clinicians Now Have Better Tools To Help Smokers Quit
An updated clinical practice guideline released by the US Public Health Service has identified new counseling and medication treatments that are effective for helping people quit smoking. Fri, 09 May 2008 09:37:39 -0500
Health Tip: Treating an Ulcer
Title: Health Tip: Treating an Ulcer Category: Health News Created: 5/9/2008 2:00:00 AM Last Editorial Review: 5/9/2008 Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Health Tip: Discussing Death With Children
Title: Health Tip: Discussing Death With Children Category: Health News Created: 5/9/2008 2:00:00 AM Last Editorial Review: 5/9/2008 Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Breast Cancer Tends to Grow Faster in Younger Women
Title: Breast Cancer Tends to Grow Faster in Younger Women Category: Health News Created: 5/9/2008 2:00:00 AM Last Editorial Review: 5/9/2008 Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Mental Illness Costs U.S. Billions in Lost Earnings
Title: Mental Illness Costs U.S. Billions in Lost Earnings Category: Health News Created: 5/9/2008 2:00:00 AM Last Editorial Review: 5/9/2008 Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Health Highlights: May 8, 2008
Title: Health Highlights: May 8, 2008 Category: Health News Created: 5/9/2008 2:00:00 AM Last Editorial Review: 5/9/2008 Fri, 9 May 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Yersinia enterocolitica: A bacterium that causes an infectious disease called yersiniosis. Yersinia enterocolitica is a member of the Yersinia family of bacteria.
Common symptoms of yersiniosis in children (who most often contract the disease) are fever, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, which is often bloody. Symptoms typically develop 4 to 7 days after exposure and may last 1 to 3 weeks or longer. In older children and adults, right-sided abdominal pain and fever may be the predominant symptoms and may be confused with appendicitis. In a small proportion of cases, complications such as skin rash, joint pains, or spread of bacteria to the bloodstream can occur.
Yersiniosis is most often acquired by eating contaminated food, especially raw or undercooked pork products. The preparation of raw pork intestines (chitterlings) may be particularly risky. Infants can be infected if their caretakers handle raw chitterlings and then do not adequately clean their hands before handling the infant or the infant's toys, bottles, or pacifiers. Drinking contaminated unpasteurized milk or untreated water can also transmit the infection. Occasionally Y. enterocolitica infection occurs after contact with infected animals. On rare occasions, it can be transmitted as a result of the bacterium passing from the stools or soiled fingers of one person to the mouth of another person. This may happen when basic hygiene and handwashing habits are inadequate. Rarely, the organism is transmitted through contaminated blood during a transfusion.
Yersiniosis is generally diagnosed by detecting the organism in the stool. The organism can also be recovered from other sites, including the throat, lymph nodes, joint fluid, urine, bile, and blood.
Uncomplicated cases of diarrhea due to Y. enterocolitica usually resolve on their own without antibiotic treatment. However, in more severe or complicated infections, antibiotics such as aminoglycosides, doxycycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, or fluoroquinolones may be useful.
Most infections with Y. enterocolitica are uncomplicated and resolve completely. Occasionally, some persons develop joint pain, most commonly in the knees, ankles or wrists. These joint pains usually develop about 1 month after the initial episode of diarrhea and generally resolve after 1 to 6 months. A skin rash, called "erythema nodosum," may also appear on the legs and trunk; this is more common in women. In most cases, erythema nodosum resolves spontaneously within a month.
To prevent the infection:
Avoid eating raw or undercooked pork.
Consume only pasteurized milk or milk products.
Wash hands with soap and water before eating and preparing food, after contact with animals, and after handling raw meat.
After handling raw chitterlings, clean hands and fingernails scrupulously with soap and water before touching infants or their toys, bottles, or pacifiers. Someone other than the foodhandler should care for children while chitterlings are being prepared.
Prevent cross-contamination in the kitchen:
Use separate cutting boards for meat and other foods.
Carefully clean all cutting boards, counter-tops, and utensils with soap and hot water after preparing raw meat.
MPs to debate embryology changes
MPs are to debate controversial proposals to change the law on the use of human embryos. Mon, 12 May 2008 10:38:53 GMT
Brown vows to make care 'fairer'
Gordon Brown pledges to reform the social care system to cope with England's ageing population. Mon, 12 May 2008 10:02:06 GMT
Mentally ill 'go without food'
People with mental health problems are struggling to make ends meet, the charity Mind finds. Sun, 11 May 2008 23:06:21 GMT
Clue to early pre-eclampsia test
A gene found to be linked with pre-eclampsia may lead to diagnostic test and early treatment, say US researchers. Sun, 11 May 2008 23:05:53 GMT
Diabetes 'is no extra road risk'
People with diabetes who use insulin have no more car accidents than those without the condition, research shows. Sun, 11 May 2008 23:05:29 GMT
Reason for concern in childhood and adolescent obesity
Obesity in children is increasing and many cardiovascular diseases that are manifested in adulthood may actually begin in childhood. Sun, 11 May 2008 08:40:53 -0500
Divorsed U.S. Parents Receive Less Help From Children
British adult children help their elderly parents according to current need (i.e. health) rather than past behaviour. This contrasts with other countries such as the US, where parents with a history of divorce see less of their children and receive less help from them. Sun, 11 May 2008 08:24:00 -0500
Fewer Strokes For Focused Folks
A video game developed by a McGill University psychologist has already been shown to reduce stress and improve performance among telemarketers by training the mind to ignore negative social responses. Sat, 10 May 2008 10:58:00 -0500
Take Precautions To Avoid Tick Bites
The arrival of warmer weather means ticks have arrived in Lambton County and residents need to take precautions from being bitten. Sat, 10 May 2008 10:56:07 -0500
Families will make case for vaccine link to autism
(AP) -- Families claiming that a mercury-based preservative in vaccines triggers autism will challenge mainstream medicine Monday as they take their case to a federal court. They seek vindication and financial redress from a government fund that helps people injured by shots. Sun, 11 May 2008 23:20:08 +0200
A new gene trigger for pregnancy disorder identified
The COMT gene - known already for its role in schizophrenia - has been found to play a role in preeclampsia, according to a report in today`s advance on-line issue of Nature. Sun, 11 May 2008 23:19:02 +0200
Fruit fly avoidance mechanism could lead to new ways to control pain in humans
At first, fruit flies eat like horses. Hatching inside over-ripe fruit where they were laid, they feed wildly in the sugar-rich environment until nature sends them an offer they can`t refuse. To survive, they must leave the fruit, wander off and burrow into the earth where they avoid food as if it were poison. Only then can the larvae grow and hatch into flies that will take wing to lay their own eggs. Sun, 11 May 2008 23:17:45 +0200
Scientists dig deeper into the genetics of schizophrenia by evaluating microRNAs
Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have illuminated a window into how abnormalities in microRNAs, a family of molecules that regulate expression of numerous genes, may contribute to the behavioral and neuronal deficits associated with schizophrenia and possibly other brain disorders. Sun, 11 May 2008 23:14:35 +0200
Is divorce bad for the parents?
The elderly are cared for by their adult children regardless of their marital status. In a unique study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, researchers found British adult children help their elderly parents according to current need (i.e. health) rather than past behaviour. This contrasts with other countries such as the US, where parents with a history of divorce see less of their children and receive less help from them. Sun, 11 May 2008 21:32:51 +0200