CDC surveillance for August 2-8, 2009: influenza activity decreased slightly but influenza-like illness stayed above normal for the season. A total of 7,511 hospitalizations and 477 deaths from novel H1N1 had been reported, and H1N1 made up 98 percent of subtyped influenza A viruses.
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Disease
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Disease
Cancer deaths -- even in the young -- drop dramatically
Research in Cancer Research reports that U.S. cancer death rates have fallen since the early 1950s, with the steepest declines among adults aged 35 to 45. Each decade of births from 1925 to 1995 faced lower risk than the one before at nearly every age; lung cancer was the exception.
Disease
Inherited blindness treatable via gene therapy
A year after corrective RPE65 genes were delivered to small areas of their retinas, three adults aged 21 to 42 born with Leber congenital amaurosis type 2 had far better vision, and their brains adapted to use the treated regions, University of Florida researchers report.
Disease
Arkansas reports first swine flu death
The Arkansas Department of Health reported the state's first death from H1N1 complications and withheld further details for confidentiality. The CDC listed 11 states with regional flu activity, and the WHO counted 162,380 lab-confirmed cases and 1,154 deaths worldwide as of Aug. 4.
Disease
China: No more plague risk
China lifted the quarantine imposed on July 30 around Ziketan town in Qinghai province, where a pneumonic plague outbreak killed three villagers. Xinhua reported no new cases in the previous week in the remote town of 10,000 residents.
Disease
First West Nile Virus Case in Iowa Identified
Iowa has identified its first West Nile virus case of the season, and the mosquito-borne virus will threaten the state until the first frost. The CDC advises repellent from dawn to dusk and clearing standing water; once infected, patients have no specific treatment.
Disease
STD Testing Offered DC High School Students
Washington DC high school students will be able to volunteer for STD testing, after officials found 13 percent of district teenagers tested positive last year, most often for gonorrhea and chlamydia. Students who choose testing attend a lecture on STDs.
Disease
Immigrating to the U.S. raises your cancer risk
Florida cancer data show Hispanics in the US run at least a 40 percent higher risk for most cancers than counterparts in their countries of origin. Mexicans had the lowest rates and Puerto Ricans the highest, and Cubans and Mexicans more than doubled their colorectal cancer risk.
Disease
Study: Vets Suffering from PTSD at Greater Heart Health Risk
A UCSF study of veterans who sought mental health care found those diagnosed with PTSD were roughly twice as likely to have high cholesterol and hypertension. The study did not examine why; Dr. Beth Cohen suggests depression may undercut motivation to exercise or eat well.
Disease
Study Shows Link Between High Cholesterol and Dementia
A study in Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders recruited people aged 40 to 45 and followed some of them four decades, finding a 66 percent higher Alzheimer's risk among those with cholesterol readings of 240 or higher. Whether statins change that remains unproven.
Disease
Swine flu has reached all continents, 168 countries, says WHO
WHO counted 1,154 H1N1 deaths, 1,008 of them in the Americas, among 162,380 reported cases. The agency cautioned the count understates the real total because countries no longer have to test and report individual cases.
Disease
Lower cholesterol now -- avoid Alzheimer's later
A 40-year Kaiser Permanente study of 9,844 people found that cholesterol of 240 or higher at ages 40 to 45 was linked to a 66 percent higher risk of Alzheimer's, and borderline levels of 200 to 239 to a 52 percent higher risk of vascular dementia.
Disease
Scientists Discover Malaria Came From Chimps
Scientists reporting in PNAS believe malaria passed from chimpanzees to humans at least 10,000 years ago. The piece traces the parasite's discovery in 1880, the control effort that made the Panama Canal possible, and hopes that the chimp link may finally help a vaccine along.
Disease
353 H1N1 associated deaths reported in the US
The CDC reported 5,514 hospitalizations and 353 deaths linked to H1N1 across 47 states and territories as of July 30. The author argues the toll looks small next to seasonal flu and other causes, and notes the federal government is sending $260 million to states to prepare for a fall return.
Disease
New seasonal flu vaccine recommendations from CDC
The CDC's Anne Schuchat upgraded seasonal flu vaccination from an encouragement to what she called a full-out recommendation, now covering 83 percent of the population including children from 6 months to 18 years. Only about 40 percent were vaccinated the previous year.
Disease
CDC: 302 Americans with H1N1 have died so far
CDC reported 302 U.S. deaths and 43,771 confirmed or probable H1N1 cases since March 2009. The piece notes one official's estimate that more than a million Americans may have been infected without knowing, which would put mortality closer to one death per 3,300 people.
Disease
More seizure cases from swine flu "likely," says CDC
CDC doctors described four Texas children aged 7 to 17 hospitalized in May with neurologic complications of swine flu; all recovered after antiviral treatment. Because children catch the virus more often than adults, doctors expect more such reports as the pandemic continues.
Disease
Lupus drug offers 1.5 million hope
Human Genome Sciences and GlaxoSmithKline reported that lupus patients treated with Benlysta in a year-long international trial had improved overall disease activity without significant flare-ups and could cut steroid use. Another study is planned before FDA submission.
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