Indian flooding sparks new worries about polio

India will make "extraordinary efforts" to immunize children against polio in its eastern state of Bihar, fearing disruption by massive flooding may make them more vulnerable to the crippling disease, officials said on Thursday. The country of 1.1 billion people has the world's highest number of polio cases, with 139 being reported in 2007 out of a global total of 345. Defeating the paralyzing disease in India is seen as key in the global war against the virus.

In Bihar, where 20 cases of the virulent Type 1 polio were reported this year, nearly 15 million people -- including millions of children -- have been affected in what officials say are the worst monsoon floods in memory in some areas.

The WHO said with thousands of marooned or homeless children living in crowded makeshift camps in the state of 90 million people -- often in extremely unhygienic conditions -- the transmission of the virus could become easier.

"In flood-hit areas, populations mix in unusual fashion which facilitates transmission of the polio virus," said Hamid Jafari, head of WHO's polio project in India.

"There are operational challenges in reaching children in flood-hit areas and going house-to-house to vaccinate them," he said, adding that campaigns were under way in areas health workers could access.

Officials were planning to deploy boats in some areas where there was no let-up in flooding.

Polio is transmitted through the fecal-oral route in unhygienic conditions. It enters the intestine and multiplies there if food is eaten with unwashed hands.

Impoverished Bihar has the second highest number of polio cases after the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. Most of Bihar's cases were reported from districts hit by flooding.

A spike in cases in 2006 in India -- mostly in these two states -- sparked global concern as the Indian strain of the virus reinfected several other countries.

Indian Health Secretary Naresh Dayal told Reuters that the government planned polio immunization rounds in Bihar in the coming weeks as a major national round had to be cancelled on August 5 in several districts due to widespread inundation.

India says it has beaten back the Type 1 virus in the western parts of Uttar Pradesh -- the world's most affected region -- for the first time, with no cases reported this year.

Officials said they did not want the progress in Uttar Pradesh undermined by gaps in Bihar due to the flooding.

"Diarrhea and intestinal infections that follow flooding compromises the efficacy of the polio vaccine," Jafari said. "We must make extraordinary efforts to plug the gap."

source : news.yahoo.com

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Extreme Heat Hits Elderly Harder

A combination of age-linked factors helps explain why older adults and the elderly are at higher risk on very hot days, experts say. Due to age-related physical changes, older adults can't cool down as well as younger adults, says the American Geriatric Society's Foundation for Health in Aging. Older people may not feel as hot when temperatures are dangerously high, and they are also less likely to feel thirsty, even when they're almost dehydrated, the experts say.

These and other factors mean that extreme heat can lead to serious health problems and increased risk of death for older adults. Each year in the United States, about 200 people die of health problems caused by high heat and humidity. Most of the victims are age 50 or older.

The foundation also noted that heart disease, diabetes and certain other diseases that are common in older adults can make it more difficult to cope with high heat and humidity. The same goes for a number of drugs, including water pills, allergy and sinus medications, and medicines for depression and nerve problems.

When the temperature reaches 90 degrees F, family and caregivers should check on older adults, said the foundation, which also offered hot weather safety tips for older adults:

• Turn on the air conditioner or go to a place that's air conditioned, such as a shopping mall, grocery store, senior center, movie theater, museum, or library. Fans aren't sufficient in extreme hot weather.
• Don't walk long distances, lift heavy objects, or do other strenuous activities.
• Drink lots of water and other clear drinks that do not contain alcohol or caffeine. If your urine is light yellow, you're drinking enough water. If it's dark yellow, you need to drink more water.
• Take cool showers, baths, or sponge baths.
• Wear lightweight, light-colored, loose-fitting clothing.
• Stay out of the sun. If you go outside, wear a hat.

source : news.yahoo.com

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Energy drinks' caffeine in line with coffee

Despite such speedy-sounding names as "Full Throttle," "Amp" and "Rush," energy drinks pack a punch that is generally no stronger than coffee, according to a report released on Monday. A comparison of 12 popular energy drinks, published in the September issue of Consumer Reports, found that the caffeine in 8 ounces of various brands ranged from 50-145 milligrams (mg), though most were in the 75- to 80-mg range.

Results were rounded to the nearest 5 mg. By comparison, the caffeine in an 8-oz cup of brewed coffee can range from 65-120 mg, with an average of 85 mg, according to the National Coffee Association. The least-caffeinated energy drink Consumer Reports tested was the fruit punch-flavored offering by Target Corp.'s private label Archer Farms, with 50 mg. At the high end was the lemon-lime flavored Celsius with 145 mg.

Market-leading Red Bull had 80 mg of caffeine. Sobe No Fear, owned by PepsiCo Inc., had 85 mg of caffeine. Amp had 75 mg of caffeine, while Rush and Coca-Cola Co.'s Full Throttle both had 80 mg.

Jamie Kopf Hirsh, associate editor at Consumer Reports and the report's author, said it was "good news" that energy drinks were not much more caffeinated than coffee, but said consumers should still be cautious.

Even though 8 ounces is the standard serving size for measuring, most containers have more than that, and most consumers drink more than that.

"You don't have to be alarmed by this, you just have to account for it in your daily caffeine intake," Hirsh said, adding that energy drinks, with their graphic video-game-like logos that appeal to young men, could be "coffee for the new generation."

source : news.yahoo.com

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Myanmar battles first polio outbreak in 7 years

Polio has infected two children in western Myanmar, the country's first outbreak of the paralyzing disease in seven years, a senior Health Ministry official said on Wednesday.

A vaccination campaign would begin next week in Rakhine State where the children lived in a township near the Bangladesh border, the official said.

"We introduced necessary measures to control and monitor the spread. We can say the situation is now under control," said the official, who declined to be named.
The outbreak of the Type 1 wild polio virus was the first since Myanmar declared itself polio-free in 2000, the official said.

Polio retained a hold in parts of
Afghanistan, Nigeria, Pakistan and India, with the latter being the likely source of re-infection in Myanmar, the official said.

"The virus strain was found to be type-1, the same as the one found in India. It is believed to have migrated via Bangladesh," he said.

The World Health Organisation has called for a new drive to stamp out polio, which still infects about 2,000 people, mainly children, a year.

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