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| Utah officials suspect bald eagle deaths linked to die-off of shore birds Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 06:43 PM PST The tally of unexplained bald eagle deaths in Utah this month rose to 20 on Thursday as state wildlife officials looked for possible links to diseases suspected in a coinciding die-off of thousands of shore birds around the Great Salt Lake. Since December 1, state wildlife specialists have documented a growing number of bald eagles of varying ages succumbing to an unexplained ailment that crippled them with leg paralysis and tremors before they died. Necropsies, the animal equivalent of autopsy examinations, have yet to pinpoint what is killing the eagles, but scientists now believe a disease rather than a toxin is the culprit, said Leslie McFarlane, Utah wildlife disease coordinator. McFarlane said a recent die-off in Utah of eared grebes that began in November and has now killed thousands of birds may be tied to the deaths of eagles, which are known to prey on the small shore birds. Full Story | Top |
| Should The U.S. Track Cigarettes Nationally? Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 01:35 PM PST By Kathleen Raven NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A federal program that let law enforcement trace cigarette packs from manufacturer to consumer would reduce interstate trafficking and boost the public health benefits of state cigarette tax policies, researchers say. Kevin Davis of the nonprofit research organization RTI International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and his colleagues calculated that the cities of Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Providence and Washington, DC, combined, could collect between $690 million and $729 million per year in cigarette taxes if trafficking stopped. "This is money that could be added to government income." Davis and his team focused on five cities in the northeastern U.S. and estimated that if New York City eliminated trafficking, roughly 5 percent of young people there would never pick up a cigarette in the first place and adults would decrease their overall cigarette consumption by about 7 percent. "Where illegal trafficking exists, taxes are not being paid, but also the person who buys the product pays less," said Joanna Cohen, director of the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. Full Story | Top |
| Extra consultations before cataract surgery rise Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 11:30 AM PST By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A study of U.S. Medicare claims finds a jump in extra doctor consultations before cataract surgery, but no clear medical reason for the added costs. "The preoperative medical consultation is an understudied area. We know surprisingly little about the process," Dr. Stephen Thilen told Reuters Health. Surgery to remove the cataract is generally low-risk, and is the most common elective surgery performed on beneficiaries of Medicare, the U.S. health insurance program for people over 65. Full Story | Top |
| Benefit of knee supplements still unclear Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 09:24 AM PST By Allison Bond NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dietary supplements glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate might slow joint damage for people with mild arthritis in their knees, according to a new study. Previous research on the effectiveness of the supplements has been mixed, so experts remain divided on what the findings of this latest study mean for people with knee osteoarthritis, in which wear and tear over time damages the cartilage that lines the joints. Among more than 30 parts of the knee joint measured in the new study, a handful differed between people who took the supplements and those who didn't over the course of two years. The results could also be seen as an indication the supplements do not make a significant difference in arthritis symptoms or severity, one researcher said. Full Story | Top |
| Mid-life job stress linked to later health problems Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 07:28 AM PST By Kathryn Doyle NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More strain at work might mean more illness in old age, according to a new study from Finland. Physical strain includes sweating, breathlessness and muscle strain. "Job strain is something that is individually perceived, so persons working in similar jobs can report different amounts of job strain," lead researcher Mikaela von Bonsdorff said. Full Story | Top |
| Russia says Arafat died of natural causes Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 05:38 AM PST By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died of natural causes, not radiation poisoning, but a Palestinian official called the finding "politicized" and said an investigation would continue. Samples were taken from Arafat's body last year by Swiss, French and Russian forensics experts after an al Jazeera documentary said his clothes showed high amounts of deadly polonium 210. The Swiss said last month their tests were consistent with polonium poisoning but not absolute proof of the cause of death. "Yasser Arafat died not from the effects of radiation but of natural causes," Vladimir Uiba, head of Russia's state forensics body, the Federal Medico-Biological Agency, was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. Full Story | Top |
| American held by al Qaeda in Pakistan urges Obama for help Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 04:06 AM PST A U.S. development worker kidnapped in Pakistan by al Qaeda two years ago appealed to President Barack Obama to intervene and help negotiate his release, in a video released on Thursday. In a 13-minute clip issued by al Qaeda's media wing and posted on several news websites, Warren Weinstein, 72, looked gaunt and tired. Pakistan's tribal areas on its border with Afghanistan serve as safe havens for al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups, and the Islamabad government has been under pressure from the United States to do more to eliminate the insurgency. Full Story | Top |
| Hong Kong confirms first death from H7N9 bird flu Thursday, Dec 26, 2013 03:33 AM PST An 80-year-old man infected with the H7N9 bird flu virus has died in Hong Kong, the government said on Thursday, in the first such death in the city after the virus surfaced in early December. The man, the second person in Hong Kong to be diagnosed with the virus strain, lived in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen and had eaten poultry there, media reported. The H7N9 strain was first reported in humans in February in mainland China, and has infected at least 139 people in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, killing more than 40. Full Story | Top |
| China to triple compensation for parents losing only child Wednesday, Dec 25, 2013 11:52 PM PST  China is to more than triple the amount of compensation that some parents get if their only child dies, the health and family planning agency said on Thursday, in the latest sign of a more lenient stand on an uncompromising population policy. China's childless parents are emblematic of the problems of the tough one-child policy, which the government says has resulted in 400 million fewer births since 1980. Traditionally, Chinese people rely on children to support them in old age so when a sole child dies, elderly parents can find themselves in dire circumstances. China has little in the way of welfare or health insurance systems. Full Story | Top |
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