Eeyore's News and view

Argentina reports first swine flu death
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina's health minister says a 3-month-old infant has died of swine flu, the country's first fatality from the disease.
Graciela Ocana tells a news conference the child died in a Buenos Aires hospital, becoming South America's fourth fatality from the virus. Chile has seen two deaths, and Colombia one.
She says four other patients are in intensive care. A health ministry statement Monday said there were 89 more confirmed cases, bringing Argentina's total to 733. Neighboring Chile has 2,335 swine flu cases.
Argentina's government rejected suspending classes despite acknowledging that 48 schools had produced confirmed swine flu cases.
The new cases come at the onset of the South American winter flu season.
U.K. reports its first swine flu death
LONDON (AP) — A person with other health problems died of swine flu in Scotland — the first reported death from the illness outside the Americas, health officials said.
Britain has been harder hit by the virus — known as H1N1_ than elsewhere in Europe. Earlier Sunday, Britain had reported another 61 cases of swine flu, bringing the country's total to 1,226 cases.
"Tragic though today's death is, I would like to emphasize that the vast majority of those who have H1N1 are suffering from relatively mild symptoms, " Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said. "I would reiterate that the risk to the general public remains low and we can all play our part in slowing the spread of the virus by following simple hygiene procedures."
Now that swine flu has officially been declared to be a pandemic, or global outbreak, health authorities expect to see more cases and deaths worldwide. The World Health Organization said last week that the virus has not become any more lethal, but is now unstoppable.
So far, swine flu appears to be a relatively mild virus, and most people who get it do not need treatment to get better. About half the people who have died from swine flu have had other health conditions including pregnancy, obesity, diabetes, or asthma.
"The patient had underlying health conditions," the government statement announcing the death on Sunday said, without saying what they were.
Scotland's government said the patient was one of 10 people being treated for the influenza at a hospital. The statement did not identify the patient or the hospital.
It was the first death from the H1N1 strain of influenza reported outside the Americas, according to the World Health Organization in Geneva or the European Centers for Disease Control in Stockholm, which both keep tabs on confirmed cases of swine flu around the world.
The latest WHO report, released on Friday, said 74 countries have reported 29,669 cases of swine flu, including 145 deaths. Fatalities had occurred in eight countries in the Americas: Mexico, the United States, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.
Last week, the WHO declared the flu a pandemic. WHO said it expected further cases — and deaths — to occur as the pandemic plays out over the next few years.
Hugh Pennington, a bacteriologist at Aberdeen University, said the underlying conditions are likely to have been a "significant factor" in the death because it raises the odds the patient will have difficulties.
"It makes it more likely that they will get the serious form of the virus in the first place," he said. "If your lungs are already only working at half capacity when the virus kicks in and takes half of what is left, you will be left teetering on the edge."
Pennington said that while the death was unfortunate, it was "quite unremarkable" given the number of reported cases and compared favorably to ordinary seasonal flu.

Sudden death in kids, ADHD drugs linked
Stimulants used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder could increase the risk of sudden death in children who have no underlying heart conditions, researchers reported Monday.
Such drugs have carried warnings since 2006 about an increased risk of sudden death in children or teens known to have serious heart abnormalities. But this is the first study to link the stimulants to sudden death in otherwise healthy young people, say officials of the Food and Drug Administration, which helped pay for the research. Further research is needed to confirm the finding, they said.
Columbia University scientists compared stimulant use in 564 young people who suffered sudden unexplained death with that of 564 killed in car accidents. They ranged in age from 7 to 19 and died between 1985 and 1996.
Researchers excluded subjects with identified heart abnormalities or a family history of sudden unexplained death. They interviewed parents and looked at autopsy reports to determine whether the victim had a heart abnormality or had been taking an ADHD stimulant drug.
Of those who died suddenly for no apparent reason, 10 — or 1.8% — had been taking methylphenidate, sold under the brand name Ritalin. Only two, or 0.4%, who died in a car accident had been taking a stimulant, and only one of them had taken methylphenidate.
"It's hard to characterize the results as reassuring," the FDA's Robert Temple said at a news conference. Still, Temple said, it's possible that the study missed stimulant use by the car-accident victims, because the parents of children whose deaths were unexplained might have better recall years later of what drugs they took.
"It's not a robust finding," he said, noting that if only one more automobile victim had been found to have taken an ADHD stimulant, the difference between that group and the sudden unexplained death group would no longer have been statistically significant. But, Temple said, "that doesn't mean that this is off the table and we're not concerned about it anymore."
The FDA is now conducting two studies, one in children and one in adults, whose use of ADHD medications has been increasing, to see whether the drugs are associated with a higher risk of sudden death, heart attack or stroke.
An estimated 2.5 million U.S. children take ADHD stimulants, according to an editorial accompanying the study, published online by the American Journal of Psychiatry.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-06-15-fda-adhd_N.htm

Rain impact: Bumper crop of mosquitoes
WASHINGTON - All the rain the region has been getting is creating a bumper crop of mosquitoes. And, you can expect them to be a nuisance around the clock.
"They'll be more active at dawn and at dusk and through the night. As we get into summer with this amount of rainfall that we've had, we'll probably have an increase in tiger mosquitoes as well, the back yard mosquito that's active during the daytime."
Mosquito Control Program Manager for the Maryland Department of Agriculture Mike Cantwell says people getting more mosquito bites could "possibly lead to a greater risk of contracting a mosquito-vectored disease later in the season, such as West Nile Virus."
Cantwell says you should do what you can to avoid exposure to mosquitoes and to eliminate breeding areas.
Tips to prevent mosquito problems:
Repair screens.
Clear standing water from anything that will hold water, including potted plant trays, buckets and toys.
Eliminate standing water on tarps or flat roofs.
Clear clogged drains, roof gutters and downspout screens regularly.
Clean out birdbaths and wading pools frequently.
Turn wading pools upside down when not in use.
Drill holes in tire swings.
Wear long sleeve shirts and pants.
Apply insect repellent.
http://wtop.com/?nid=106&sid=1696647

Survey: Family time eroding as Internet use soars
NEW YORK (AP) - Whether it's around the dinner table or sitting front of the TV, U.S. families say they are spending less time together.
The decline in family time coincides with a rise in Internet use, and the boom of social networks—though a new report stops just short of assigning blame.
The report is from the Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California.
The center is reporting that 28 percent of Americans it interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households. Only 11 percent said that in 2006.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D98R9A280&show_article=1