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Flu Reports

CDC's Flu Activity & Surveillance

Reports & Surveillance Methods in the United States

During week 7 (February 10 - 16, 2008), influenza activity continued to increase in the United States.

• Two thousand three hundred forty (34.0%) specimens tested by U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories were positive for influenza.
• The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza was above the epidemic threshold for the sixth consecutive week.
• The proportion of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) and acute respiratory illness (ARI) was above national baseline levels. ILI increased in six of the nine regions compared to week 6, and was above region-specific baselines in all nine regions. All nine regions reported ARI at or above their region specific baselines.
• Forty-nine states reported widespread influenza activity; one state reported regional influenza activity; and the District of Columbia reported local influenza activity.

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/index.htm

Article

Ferida Wolff, Supermarket to the Rescue: Nowhere else are there so many options for cooling an overheated body. I discovered this over the course of many meltdowns while shopping. I’ll let you in on some survival tricks I have learned that can help you get through a supermarket flash

Interactive Research at Children's Hospital, Boston

The Research department at Children's Hospital Boston has developed a series of Web-based Flash interactives to present complex ideas in an interactive, user-friendly format.

How Cancer Grows and Spreads
This animated Flash feature illustrates the growth, progression and metastasis of carcinomas. In this presentation, cancer researchers Bruce Zetter, PhD, and Marsha Moses, PhD, identify fourteen possible stages of a carcinoma and show the possible paths the disease can take as it moves from one stage to another. Using the presentation's "roadmap," users are able to choose their own routes as they travel from one possible cancer stage to the next. At each stop along the way, they learn details about that stage through descriptions and animated illustrations, and they can learn about current treatments and the latest research advances.

The Neuron
The Neuron gives users the opportunity to experiment with a virtual neuron to see what conditions are needed to make it fire and also with a circuit of interconnected neurons to see how neurons work together to process information. In addition, the feature provides step-through animations that illustrate how electrical currents move down the neuron along the axon (action potential) and how neurons pass their signals along (synaptic transmission).

Virtual Stem Cell Laboratory
The Virtual Stem Cell Laboratory is home to a computer-generated “living” culture of embryonic stem cells. When the Flash-based feature is launched, the cells quickly begin to reproduce through the process of mitosis (cell division). Users can then add different "coaxing" factors — proteins, for example —- to differentiate the cells into increasingly specialized cell types. From the initial colony of embryonic stem cells, virtual scientists can create 16 cell types ranging from red blood cells to motor neurons. The cells are even programmed to behave like their real counterparts. As the lab produces new cell types, the user learns what scientists know about the cells, including any known or potential therapeutic applications.

Other interactives are at Children's Hospital site.

Physicians, Patients and Consulting

Biomet is a manufacturer and designer products for hip replacement, knee replacement, shoulder replacement, elbow replacement, and other small joint replacement. The company is one of five that also includes DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company; Smith & Nephew plc; Stryker Corp; and Z immer, Inc all of whom have posted payments to medical consultants, part of a deferred prosecution agreement that each of the companies involved made with the US Attorney in New Jersey.

HEALTHmap

"Through an automated text processing system, the data is aggregated by disease and displayed by location for user-friendly access to the original alert. HEALTHmap provides a jumping-off point for real-time information on emerging infectious diseases and has particular interest for public health officials and international travelers."

There are tips to navigate and use the HEALTHmap visualization system on the About page.

Twenty Steps ... To Better Health

Although you may consider yourself well-versed in heart-healthy facts, some of these from the PBS Health Campaign, Take One Step, may not be universally known:

Did you know there may be a real "love connection" between kindness and heart health?

Maybe your heart really can be filled with (or at least fueled by)love. Researchers at Case Western Reserve University found that married men with known or suspected coronary artery disease who answered "yes" to the question, "Does your wife show you her love?" had significantly less chest pain than men who answered "no." Although further study linking loving support with heart health will reveal the complete story, everybody wins when you take small steps today. So hug your hubby, smooch your sweetie, cuddle your kids. Tuck "you're special" notes in pockets or lunchboxes. At the very least, say I love you.

What's up with today's enormous entrees?

According to the American Heart Association, 20 years ago the average pasta serving was two cups. Today your plate packs four cups! So take one step forward to improve your health: order an appetizer as your main course or "doggie-bag" half of your entree before digging in. But don't skip meals; your growling stomach will drown out your good judgment!

Did you know that your neighborhood can contribute to overweight?

Is your local market stocked with reasonably priced nutritious food, or is your closest option a convenience store filled with processed snacks? According to Latino Health Access, affordable, fresh whole foods are scarce in many American communities, particularly in inner city and rural locations. Banding together with family or neighbors experiencing the same "grocery challenge" is a positive first step. Swap childcare or carpooling duties for distant shopping trips. If you're taking public transportation, go with a friend and help carry each other's purchases. Start a family or community garden to get nature's freshest offerings. Explore advocacy resources like the Latino Health Access and The United Way for other helpful ideas.

What's the most common cancer in America?

Skin cancer grabs this ignoble title, with more than 1.3 million cases diagnosed in the United States each year. The good news is that researchers are constantly exploring new prevention and treatment strategies. For example, a recent University of Arizona study points to the possibility of fruit extracts serving as potentially powerful sunscreens in the future. But while scientists dig deeper into this and other cancer-fighting options, perform the lifesaving basics: apply sunscreen above SPF 15, don a hat, and become a shade worshipper. Take one step. It's never too late.

What symptoms signal a heart attack?

We often think of heart attacks as sudden and intense pain. However, most start with mild chest pain, some shoulder discomfort, or even shortness of breath. Other signs include nausea, extreme fatigue, lightheadedness, indigestion. or a cold sweat. If you experience these symptoms, take them seriously, and call 911. Remember that the symptoms may manifest differently in men and women. Other important steps for heart health include knowing your family medical history, monitoring your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and eating a diet low in fat and rich in fruits, vegetables and fiber.

Did you know that laughter may be heart-healthy?

Scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine found that watching a humorous movie for even 15 minutes can help increase your blood flow. So take small steps toward chuckling. Rent that funny film, fool around with friends, switch on a sitcom. Listen to comedian on your music player while taking a walk. Take your health more seriously than you take yourself. Take one step. It's never too late.

Take one step: Especially for Women

You're a woman. Translation: you're a multi-tasking manager, logistics specialist, cheerleader, communication expert, chauffeur, and event planner. So while you're caring for everyone and everything around you, make time to care for yourself, starting with these small steps.

Did you know that heart disease doesn't discriminate?

This is one case where we wish women weren't equally represented. Contrary to popular belief, heart disease is not just a male disease. In fact, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, heart disease annually claims the lives of more women than men. So take small steps toward better heart health. Have your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels checked regularly. Engage in physical activity like walking. "Color" your diet (think an orange for breakfast, red apples for lunch, and some vivid greens for dinner). Take one step. It's never too late.

Did you know that walking can improve your heart health?

Walk! Walk for your life! A report in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that a sedentary 40-year-old woman who begins walking briskly half an hour a day, four days a week, can enjoy almost the same reduced heart attack risk as a woman who has exercised regularly her entire life. So take small steps to increase, well, your steps. If you're in generally good health, the old standbys still work: take the stairs, park in a distant spot, and get off the bus a stop or two early. Whatever your strategy, take one step. It's never too late

New Link

The Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention has created a website for checking your risk for developing a variety of diseases: YourDiseaseRisk. There are tables listing the prevalence and relative risk estimates used in the Your Disease Risk calculations.

"The Your Disease Risk site began as the Harvard Cancer Risk Index, a pen and paper cancer risk assessment tool first put together in the mid 1990’s by the Risk Index Working Group at Harvard University. In 1999, the Risk Index was adapted to the Web as Your Cancer Risk. Then, to give even greater emphasis to the importance of healthy behaviors, Your Cancer Risk was expanded to include assessments for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and osteoporosis. The expanded site was renamed Your Disease Risk."

We took a couple of the tests (for ovarian cancer and osteoporosis) and was quite frankly reassured that my risks were lower than we had supposed, at least statistically. The site also informed me what medical procedure had lowered a particular risk.

Free Brochures

The National Diabetes Education Program, a joint Federal program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), wants to remind older adults with type 2 diabetes of its free information on how to manage their disease.

The Power to Control Diabetes is in Your Hands campaign emphasizes the importance of checking blood glucose levels and managing the ABCs of diabetes, and includes information on how to access Medicare benefits. To receive a free brochure visit the NDEP Web site at www.ndep.nih.gov or call 1-800-438-5383.

New Link

Our Bodies, Ourselves - The companion site to the well known (and updated) book. The goals and premise of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective are:

OBOS introduced these key ideas into the public discourse on women’s health:

• That women, as informed health consumers, are catalysts for social change;

• That women can become their own health experts, particularly through discussing issues of health and sexuality with each other;

• That health consumers have a right to know about controversies surrounding medical practices and about where consensus among medical experts may be forming;

• That women comprise the largest segment of health workers, health consumers, and health decision-makers for their families and communities, but are underrepresented in positions of influence and policy making;

• That a pathology/disease approach to normal life events (birthing, menopause, aging, death) is not an effective way in which to consider health or structure a health system.

Some of the topics covered for in Chapter 26, Midlife and Menopause include:

I am my Mother’s Keeper

• Menopause and Hormone Therapy
• Sexual Issues in Menopause
• The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act
• The Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis in Women
• Women’s Work: Pay, Pensions and Poverty

Clinical Trials Link

Access to clinical trials has been a feature of health links for quite a while but rarely has a drug company provided post-clinical trial results. Eli Lilly is doing so, responding to a demand for more information regarding this field.

The site, lillytrials.com provides the following:

Select any of the following links to get information related to clinical trials sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company:

Trial Results by Therapeutic Area: Provides summaries of completed clinical studies and/or references to publications or scientific presentations for marketed products by therapeutic area.

Trial Results by Product: Provides summaries of completed clinical studies and/or references to publications or scientific presentations for marketed products by product.

Initiated Trials: Provides a list of on-going clinical studies identified by their unique numerical code.

Recruiting Trials: Provides recruiting information for ongoing clinical studies for serious and life-threatening conditions.

Terminology: Provides definitions and explanations of terms commonly used in drug discovery and development.

Education: Provides information describing the processes involved in the discovery and development of new medicines.

New Links

1) Your Disease Risk is a site that devised by the Center for Cancer Prevention based at the Harvard School of Public Health. The information in Your Disease Risk is based on established science and proven risk factors. A risk factor is proven if the evidence is strong enough to show a link to the disease. The information applies to populations in the US and other western countries. Each question is related to a number that represents the strength of the association between the risk factor and the disease. As you answer the questions, the numbers are multiplied to equal your personal risk based on the risk factors that apply to you. Your risk is then compared to the average risk for a person your age and sex.

Your Disease Risk may not include information on some things you think affect your risk of cancer. That's because scientific studies don't show a consistent link to the disease. If it's not included in the web site, the Harvard Center for Cancer Prevention doesn't regard it as a proven risk factor.

2) Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network -"The OPTN's secure transplant information database contains all national data on the candidate waiting list, organ donation and matching, and transplantation." On the front page is a statistical chart showing how many people are on waiting lists for various types of organ transplants as of the current date and time. Also available here:
National Data "includes the latest data about the status of U.S. organ donation and transplantation on a national level." Regional Data "Allows you to view the latest data about the status of U.S. organ donation and transplantation by UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) region of center."
State Data "Allows you to view the latest data about the status of U.S. organ donation and transplantation by state of center."
Center Data "Includes current and historical information accumulated about individual transplant centers."
Organ Datasource: "Select an organ (kidney, pancreas, kidney/pancreas, liver, heart, lung, heart/lung, intestine) to view an informational profile, organ and center data profiles, policies relating to that organ, and to locate a transplant center."

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