PUTRAJAYA, May 13 (Bernama) -- The number of trainees from the Road Transport Department (RTD) Academy in Melaka who are being treated at the Melaka Hospital following an epidemic suspected to be meningitis, rose to 46 today from 38 cases yesterday.
The Director-General of Health, Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican, said of the total, two cases were being treated at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward and they were expected to be taken out of the ICU ward tomorrow while the remaining 44 cases were being treated at the Isolation Ward.
"The 44 cases placed in the Isolation Ward comprise 39 trainees, one trainer, a woman who had contacted one of the trainees, two trainee radiographer and a trainee nurse," he said in a statement, here, Wednesday.
In the incident on May 4, a trainee of the RTD Academy died while on the way to the Melaka Hospital while three were admitted to the ICU and the remaining 85 had to be quarantined due to the meningitis outbreak.
He said a medical team was still being placed fulltime at the academy to monitor a total of 81 trainees.
"All the trainees and their contacts who are being treated are said to be recuperating and as we have said earlier, preventive and control measures will be continued until all the cases have fully recovered," he said.
Mohd Ismail said the meningococcal meningitis infection was caused by the Neisseria meningitides bacteria which were only carried by humans and were not similar to the Nipah encephalitis or Influenza A (H1N1) infection.
-- BERNAMA
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
HEALTH: Super Fruits And Other Health Food Trends
March 9, 2009
(CBS) Early Show contributor and registered dietitian Keri Glassman stopped by to discuss the latest super fruits and other health food trends.
Glassman says there are more super fruits making it to markets this year, like mangosteen and goji and acai. They're in more products -- in soaps, cereals and granola. There are tons of juice blends out there, too.
There are also tons of new products for kids like bite-sized peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, healthier cookie and baking mixes, healthier instant French toast that fortified with vitamins.
Gluten free is also still going strong. Pre and probiotics are big -- in everything from bars to baby food to frozen food, so are omega 3s with an emphasis on omega 3s for athletes. There are new ways of getting omegas -- from flax, to chia and hemp! A lot of products for kids and baby nutrition and also new products for school systems.
Trends for 2009
1. SUPER FRUITS:
Acai, goji, pomegranate, and more and in many new places. Some examples of products:
2. PRO/PREBIOTICS:
3. OMEGAs:
We know omegas from salmon and walnuts are healthy for everything from burning fat to improving mood to being anti-inflammatory agents but they are also found in hemp, chia and flaxseeds -- these ingredients being put in many new places:
4. NEW SWEETENERS:
BENEFITS
SUPERFRUITS:
New ones to look out for Acerola, Graviola and Caja
COCONUT:
PREBIOTICS:
May improve gastrointestinal health. May improve calcium and magnesium absorption
The principal characteristic and effect of prebiotics in the diet is to promote the growth and proliferation of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract and thus potentially yield or enhance the effect of probiotic bacteria.
Friday, February 13, 2009
HEALTH WITH MALAYSIAKINI: a third of American kids take vitamins
Study finds
a third of American kids
takes vitamins
By Lindsey Tanner
About a third of U.S. children and teens take vitamins, even though most of those taking the pills are healthy, active kids who probably don't need them, a new study suggests.
Youngsters who could benefit the most from vitamins — kids in fair or poor health with the worst eating habits — were the least likely to take them, researchers reported.
The survey of parents of children aged 2 to 17 was done from 1999-2004. The results show a decline in vitamin use from the 1970s when roughly half of all American children took vitamins, the study's lead author said.
The study highlights a question doctors often get from parents: Should I give my kids vitamins?
Stacy Fournier, of Gainesville, Fla., says it's often on her mind even though her daughter is a great eater.
"I probably bring it up every other time we visit the pediatrician because it is looming on my mind and I want to make sure that she's healthy," said Fournier, whose daughter is almost 3.
For now, Fournier has heeded her doctor's advice against it, but she still wonders, "Why not? It can't hurt."
The study's lead author, Dr. Ulfat Shaikh, a pediatrician at the University of California-Davis Children's Hospital in Sacramento, says taking daily multivitamins in the dose recommended on the label probably is harmless. However, they often aren't needed for healthy children with a varied diet, she said.
Shaikh said kids in the study "who had the ideal profile — higher dietary fiber intake, higher milk intake, lower total fat and cholesterol intake, lower computer use, greater physical activity, lower obesity, kids that had insurance coverage, had good health care access, whose parents said that they were in good health — these kinds of kids were the highest users."
She noted that vitamin and mineral supplements aren't cheap. A bottle of 100 multivitamin-mineral tablets for kids can cost around $10, depending on the brand. Almost $2 billion is spent on them annually.
Also, some parents and teens may mistakenly think taking a daily pill will make up for a lousy diet, Shaikh said. Pediatricians generally agree that the best source for vitamins and minerals is a varied diet that includes fresh fruit, vegetables and fiber — not pills.
Still, there's mounting evidence about important potential benefits from a vitamin that can be hard to get enough of from food, particularly for kids who don't drink much milk. That's vitamin D.
The American Academy of Pediatrics last year doubled the amount of vitamin D it recommends for all children, from newborns to teens. It now advises 400 international units daily of vitamin D, which kids can get by drinking four cups a day of fortified milk. But many don't drink that much, and eat little of the few foods containing the vitamin, including tuna and other oily fish. So the academy recommends 400 IU supplements for kids lacking adequate vitamin D in their diets.
The vitamin can keep bones strong, but also has been linked to other possible health benefits, including preventing some cancers and heart disease.
Some physicians think kids and adults should be getting even more vitamin D, and an Institute of Medicine panel begins a series of meetings in March to discuss whether to revise recommendations for both vitamin D and calcium, which work together to keep bones healthy.
The new study, released Monday in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, asked about use of vitamin and mineral supplements in general, not about specific ones including vitamin D. It found supplement use was most common among frequent milk drinkers and those with varied diets — children who likely are meeting the academy's latest recommendations.
The study is based on data from 10,828 kids whose parents took part in a national health survey that included interviews about diet and supplement use. Overall, 34 percent of the children had recently taken vitamin/mineral supplements and almost half of users took them daily.
Vitamin/mineral use was highest among 2- to 4-year-olds — 43 percent; it was lowest in 12- to 17-year-olds — 27 percent.
Among children in excellent health, 37 percent used the supplements, versus 28 percent of those in fair or poor health. The breakdown was similar when comparing frequent milk drinkers to those who generally avoided dairy products.
Lower-income children were less likely to take vitamins and minerals than those from wealthier families.
Shaikh said it's possible the healthy kids were healthy at least partly because of vitamin/mineral use. But she said it's also possible vitamin-using kids simply have more health-conscious parents.
Dr. Ronald Kleinman, editor of the pediatrics academy's nutrition handbook, said the study bolsters previous evidence that children who may need vitamins the most don't take them.
"Most of us would do that by recommending a better meal plan" rather than vitamin supplements, he said.
Breast-fed babies: 400 international units of vitamin D drops daily, until they start drinking at least four cups a day of vitamin D-fortified formula or milk.
Children who don"t drink at least four cups of fortified milk, juice or other vitamin D-fortified foods: 400 IU vitamin D supplements daily.
Children with iron-deficiency anemia: iron supplements.
Children with eating disorders, obese kids in weight-loss programs and those with certain chronic illnesses including cystic fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease and liver disease: various vitamin and/or mineral supplements.
Doctors should always be consulted before starting children on vitamins.
Associated Press.
a third of American kids
takes vitamins
By Lindsey Tanner
About a third of U.S. children and teens take vitamins, even though most of those taking the pills are healthy, active kids who probably don't need them, a new study suggests.
Youngsters who could benefit the most from vitamins — kids in fair or poor health with the worst eating habits — were the least likely to take them, researchers reported.
The survey of parents of children aged 2 to 17 was done from 1999-2004. The results show a decline in vitamin use from the 1970s when roughly half of all American children took vitamins, the study's lead author said.
The study highlights a question doctors often get from parents: Should I give my kids vitamins?
Stacy Fournier, of Gainesville, Fla., says it's often on her mind even though her daughter is a great eater.
"I probably bring it up every other time we visit the pediatrician because it is looming on my mind and I want to make sure that she's healthy," said Fournier, whose daughter is almost 3.
For now, Fournier has heeded her doctor's advice against it, but she still wonders, "Why not? It can't hurt."
The study's lead author, Dr. Ulfat Shaikh, a pediatrician at the University of California-Davis Children's Hospital in Sacramento, says taking daily multivitamins in the dose recommended on the label probably is harmless. However, they often aren't needed for healthy children with a varied diet, she said.
Shaikh said kids in the study "who had the ideal profile — higher dietary fiber intake, higher milk intake, lower total fat and cholesterol intake, lower computer use, greater physical activity, lower obesity, kids that had insurance coverage, had good health care access, whose parents said that they were in good health — these kinds of kids were the highest users."
She noted that vitamin and mineral supplements aren't cheap. A bottle of 100 multivitamin-mineral tablets for kids can cost around $10, depending on the brand. Almost $2 billion is spent on them annually.
Also, some parents and teens may mistakenly think taking a daily pill will make up for a lousy diet, Shaikh said. Pediatricians generally agree that the best source for vitamins and minerals is a varied diet that includes fresh fruit, vegetables and fiber — not pills.
Still, there's mounting evidence about important potential benefits from a vitamin that can be hard to get enough of from food, particularly for kids who don't drink much milk. That's vitamin D.
The American Academy of Pediatrics last year doubled the amount of vitamin D it recommends for all children, from newborns to teens. It now advises 400 international units daily of vitamin D, which kids can get by drinking four cups a day of fortified milk. But many don't drink that much, and eat little of the few foods containing the vitamin, including tuna and other oily fish. So the academy recommends 400 IU supplements for kids lacking adequate vitamin D in their diets.
The vitamin can keep bones strong, but also has been linked to other possible health benefits, including preventing some cancers and heart disease.
Some physicians think kids and adults should be getting even more vitamin D, and an Institute of Medicine panel begins a series of meetings in March to discuss whether to revise recommendations for both vitamin D and calcium, which work together to keep bones healthy.
The new study, released Monday in the February issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, asked about use of vitamin and mineral supplements in general, not about specific ones including vitamin D. It found supplement use was most common among frequent milk drinkers and those with varied diets — children who likely are meeting the academy's latest recommendations.
The study is based on data from 10,828 kids whose parents took part in a national health survey that included interviews about diet and supplement use. Overall, 34 percent of the children had recently taken vitamin/mineral supplements and almost half of users took them daily.
Vitamin/mineral use was highest among 2- to 4-year-olds — 43 percent; it was lowest in 12- to 17-year-olds — 27 percent.
Among children in excellent health, 37 percent used the supplements, versus 28 percent of those in fair or poor health. The breakdown was similar when comparing frequent milk drinkers to those who generally avoided dairy products.
Lower-income children were less likely to take vitamins and minerals than those from wealthier families.
Shaikh said it's possible the healthy kids were healthy at least partly because of vitamin/mineral use. But she said it's also possible vitamin-using kids simply have more health-conscious parents.
Dr. Ronald Kleinman, editor of the pediatrics academy's nutrition handbook, said the study bolsters previous evidence that children who may need vitamins the most don't take them.
"Most of us would do that by recommending a better meal plan" rather than vitamin supplements, he said.
Breast-fed babies: 400 international units of vitamin D drops daily, until they start drinking at least four cups a day of vitamin D-fortified formula or milk.
Children who don"t drink at least four cups of fortified milk, juice or other vitamin D-fortified foods: 400 IU vitamin D supplements daily.
Children with iron-deficiency anemia: iron supplements.
Children with eating disorders, obese kids in weight-loss programs and those with certain chronic illnesses including cystic fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease and liver disease: various vitamin and/or mineral supplements.
Doctors should always be consulted before starting children on vitamins.
Associated Press.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
HEALTH WITH MALAYSIAKINI: Vitamin D for powerful muscles in teens
Vitamin D can boost muscle power
and force in adolescent girls,
says anew study.
7 Feb 2009,
the times india
The research will be published in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to have a significant negative impact on muscle and bone health, and can lead to conditions including osteoporosis and rickets.
"We know vitamin D deficiency can weaken the muscular and skeletal systems, but until now, little was known about the relationship of vitamin D with muscle power and force," said Dr. Kate Ward, Ph.D., of the University of Manchester in the U.K., and lead author of the study.
"Our study found that vitamin D is positively related to muscle power, force, velocity and jump height in adolescent girls."
To reach the conclusion, researchers followed 99 adolescent girls between the ages of 12 and 14 years.
[Vitamin D for powerful muscles in teens
Times of India, India ]
Ward and her colleagues took blood samples to measure the girls’ serum levels of vitamin D. Many of these girls were found to have low levels of vitamin D despite not presenting any symptoms.
Researchers used a novel outcome measure called jumping mechanography to measure muscle power and force. Jumping mechanography derives power and force measurements from a subject’s performance in a series of jumping activities.
Ward says this method of testing is ideal as the muscles required to jump are those most often affected in subjects with vitamin D deficiency. Girls without vitamin D deficiency performed significantly better in these tests.
"Vitamin D affects the various ways muscles work and we’ve seen from this study that there may be no visible symptoms of vitamin D deficiency," said Ward.
"Further studies are needed to address this problem and determine the necessary levels of vitamin D for a healthy muscle system,” the researcher added.
How much is enough?
Meanwhile, skeptics doubt many of the health claims and question the need and even the validity of widespread testing. They recall how large doses of vitamins C and E were supposed to prevent cardiovascular disease. Beta-carotene was supposed to prevent lung cancer. Selenium kept prostate cancer at bay. None of it turned out to be true, and some of the advice even proved harmful.
Vitamin D was discovered 87 years ago by team of scientists at Johns Hopkins University who cured mice with rickets by feeding them cod liver oil. Oily fish like sardines remain one of the few natural food sources of vitamin D.
It was later found that certain wavelengths of ultraviolet light prompt our bodies to synthesize vitamin D, eventually making a hormone called calcitriol that, among other things, controls how the body uses calcium and mineralizes bone.
[Experts: We're in Vitamin D Deficiency CrisisNBC Bay Area, CA ]
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
10.6% increase foreseen in health-care costs
WASHINGTON - Health-care costs are expected to rise 10.6 percent into next year, the smallest increase since 2002, according to a survey of insurers by Aon Consulting Worldwide.
Costs are rising to keep up with growing patient demand for services and the needs of an aging population, and because of prescription drugs and technology. Experts say the latest survey shows that efforts to tame costs, such as employee wellness or disease management programs, may be paying off. "There's a variety of tactics that employers have been employing over the last three to six years that has had an impact," said study director Bill Sharon.
Aon Consulting surveyed about 70 health insurers around the country, including companies such as Aetna and Cigna.
The expected 10.6 percent increase, during the 12-month rating period starting this year between April and September, represents a slight drop from last year's forecast of 10.9 percent. But the percentage likely won't be what the average employee faces for a premium increase next year. It doesn't reflect insurance plan designs or changes an employer might make to benefits plans.
"Pretty much every employer has to do something or is doing something in an effort to bring that number down," Sharon said.
click here: 10.6% increase foreseen in health-care costs
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