West Nile Virus

West Nile virus has been established as a seasonal epidemic in North America that rises in summer continues into the fall. West Nile virus affects the central nervous system and is usually transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. WNV occurs about 3-14 days after a person has been bitten. People who have been infected with West Nile virus can develop serious and potentially fatal disease that requires hospitalization.

Use bug repellent with the Environmental Protection Agency has approved active ingredients.

Approximately 80 percent of people infected with WNV have no symptoms at all. Up to 20 percent of infected people have mild symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, nausea, diarrhea, lack of appetite, rash, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes or vomiting . These symptoms usually last 3-6 days, but may continue for several weeks. Severe WNV cases are rare and occur in only 1 out of 150 people infected, the symptoms may include stiff neck, confusion, loss of consciousness, disorientation, stupor, tremors, muscle weakness, loss of vision, numbness and paralysis. These symptoms may last several weeks and neurological effects may be permanent.

• Use bug repellents with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the active ingredients. Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, or lemon eucalyptus oil normally provide a longer duration of protection.
• Wear clothes that cover your skin as much as possible. Wear long sleeves, pants and socks whenever outdoors
• Empty all standing water daily. including water buckets, cans, pool covers, and water dishes for pets. Mosquitoes are more attracted and lay their eggs in standing water.
• Mosquitoes can bite at any time, but the hours between sunset and sunrise have activity above mosquitoes.
• Install screens on windows and doors to keep mosquitoes out.

general care to treat any mosquito bite is to wash the area with water and soap as soon as possible. This can help reduce the reaction. An ice pack may help reduce swelling, and an over-the-counter antihistamines can help reduce itching. If you scratch mosquito bites, you might break your skin, which can lead to a bacterial infection in your skin. Instead of scratching, try applying a hydrocortisone cream, calamine lotion.

There is no specific treatment for WNV infection. In cases with milder symptoms, the infection can pass on its own. In more severe cases, medical attention is needed, which may include intravenous fluids, help with breathing and nursing care. Pregnant women and nursing mothers are encouraged to talk to their doctor if they develop symptoms that could be WNV to prevent transmission to their offspring. For more information about this virus, call 1-800-CDC-INFO or visit www.cdc.gov

Sources :. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institutes for Health, LifeWork Strategies EAP, Adventist Behavioral Health, and Washington and Shady Grove Adventist hospitals.

WASHINGTON, D.C. .- Parasites get a bad reputation for a reason. They cause a litany of diseases with terrifying crowd of symptoms. But increasing evidence suggest that they may also prevent disease. And now there is genetic evidence to suggest that this is true. New research presented here yesterday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (which publishes Science NOW) finds that a gene associated with increased risk of asthma is also related to resistance against a parasitic worm.

scientists have long suspected that allergies and asthma common in the developed and relatively rare in poor countries, are the result of a lack of exposure to microbes. This 2-decade-old idea, called the hygiene hypothesis, suggests that lack of exposure to dangerous parasites in childhood makes the adaptive arm of the immune system more likely to overreact when he contacts benign allergens.

Kathleen Barnes, an expert anthropologist and genetics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and colleagues investigated the relationship between asthma and particular parasitic worm, Schistosoma mansoni Conde, a group of fishing rural villages on the coast of Brazil. The worm is common in the area, and up to 85% of residents are exposed.

Previous studies have shown that in areas such as Conde, where parasitic worms are endemic, individuals who produce the most helical gear-specific antibodies in particular, an antibody called IgE, which triggers inflammation tend to be more resistant to worm infection. According to research by Barnes, the resistance appears to be about 30% heritable.

The researchers noted that after they administered drugs to rid the people of Conde worms, the incidence of asthma and allergy symptoms increases. So Barnes hypothesized that mutations that help people repel parasitic worms might be the same mutations that make them susceptible to asthma and allergies. If an individual product lots of IgE in response to a worm, he or she might also produce a lot of IgE in response to an allergen.

The team collected blood samples and 850 people in Condé stool. They tested their blood for antibodies against the worm to measure their immune response and searched their stool for worm eggs to determine how they were heavily infected. The researchers decided to focus on genes that have been linked to asthma risk. They were particularly interested in IL-33 , a gene linked to inflammation which is overexpressed in lung tissue of asthma compared with people without the disease. " IL-33 stands as a stronger candidate genes for asthma to date," says Barnes.

Barnes and colleagues selected 23 genetic markers across the gene and tested whether any of them were associated with the worm resistance in people of Conde. Five of them have shown a strong association, and those who happened to be the exact same markers that are associated with asthma. "And what we are most excited is that the relationship is reversed," said Barnes. "Thus, [gene variant] that confer risk for asthma confers protection against [worm infection]."

The researchers postulate that natural selection may favor mutations that protect against infection by the worm and that these same mutations could inadvertently increase the risk of other diseases such as asthma. Researchers have not yet found the exact mutation responsible for worm resistance and asthma susceptibility. To find it, they will have "to drill deeper down," said Barnes. She speculates that the culprit may be a mutation in a region of the genome that regulates the activity of IL-33 gene.

Jennifer Ingram, a cell biologist who studies asthma at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, said the finding that deworming drugs increased the incidence of asthma symptoms is " striking. "she added that the work of Barnes is important because it highlights the field to the molecular mechanisms that may contribute to asthma.

David Van Sickle, a medical anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who presented during the same session as Barnes points out that global estimates of asthma prevalence are based largely on asking people if a doctor has ever told they have asthma. But diagnoses vary from culture to culture. Van Sickle has found, for instance, that doctors in India are much less likely than doctors in Wisconsin to diagnose a person with clear symptoms of asthma with the disease. So the true prevalence of asthma in India or other countries could be higher or lower than current estimates. Changes in the prevalence of asthma would not necessarily negate the hygiene hypothesis, he said, they could complicate the situation. However, he said the work of Barnes is "elegant".

Follow our complete coverage of the 2011 AAAS

Have a Happy Halloween and health

Goblins, ghosts and witches might scare you, but the real health hazards of Halloween on life are attractive sweet candy. Dressed in bright, colorful packaging, Reeces, Musketeers, Twix, M & Ms, you name it, are in full supply and a major temptation for children and adults! Michele McBride, diabetes educator at Washington Adventist Hospital and Shady Grove Adventist Hospital offers advice on how to fight some of these scoundrels by mixing in healthy food choices and fun Halloween activities

Focusing on fun .: Get kids excited about Halloween activities such as making crafts and costumes, go pumpkin picking, and tell scary stories to divert attention candy

Fill on healthy foods. Before trick-or-treating, prepare a healthy meal or snack for children so they are less likely to fill candy

Barter with books :. Give your children the opportunity to share in. some of their candy for other things such as books, toys and games

Be a healthy host: Organize a Halloween party of your own and serve healthy snacks like fresh vegetables, baked chips and crackers, cheese and lean meats. Make nutritious pumpkin recipes, rich in vitamin A, calcium, potassium and fiber

Limit temptation of treats :. Wait to buy sweets, or hide them until the holiday, so they are out of sight and mind

For children with diabetes, k eep track of carbs :. Prevent sugar peak blood keeping a number of carbohydrates. Some examples: 3 Musketeers Fun-Size Bar = 12 grams of carbohydrates, and a plain Mini pack of M & Ms = 13 grams

Tell us how you or your family stays healthy when the treats to Halloween try.! Have you healthy recipes to share Halloween?

Seth Berkley is trading an "I" for a "G."

In August Berkley, who founded and directs the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), will take over from the GAVI Alliance, another public-private partnership focused on vaccines, but with the order the larger day of child immunization in poor countries against many diseases. Berkley, an epidemiologist who started working on the formation of IAVI in 1994 and officially launched it two years later, had earlier job with the Rockefeller Foundation, the Carter Center, and the US Centers for Disease Control and prevention.

Although IAVI and GAVI are both vaccine-centric, they differ on several key points. There is no vaccine against AIDS and the IAVI based in New York City tried to push research and development forward by funding innovative collaborations and even building his own laboratory. The Geneva-based GAVI, however, helps countries to buy and deliver existing vaccines. IAVI's budget is $ 93.9 million for 2011. GAVI has committed more than $ 4 billion to poor countries since its inception in 00, the vaccination of nearly 300 million children and save about 5 million lives.

Science Insider Berkley spoke shortly after the board of the GAVI Alliance announced the news today.

Q: Why are you leaving IAVI

S.B :. for two reasons. GAVI has a very important mission and leadership opportunity has come now. From my perspective, GAVI has the ability to be the broad umbrella deal with all these issues of critical vaccines. The second thing is IAVI is a really mature organization now. I've seen it grow from a sapling to a really well-rooted tree, and I feel the organization is strong enough for me to go. I think it's the right time.

Q: What are the challenges to GAVI

SB: There are all these new vaccines out and the challenge is to get them to people in the poorest countries. This requires good immunization systems, affordable vaccines and the sustainability of financing, which means getting vaccines in the budgets of these countries and donor funds to help distribution. GAVI and the challenge is that it must be accelerated.

Q: How will you change GAVI

S.B :. It remains to be seen. My job will be to look at the excellent work and build on it. And what is different with GAVI is it works closely with partners. At present, the world is higher vaccination rates than it has ever been, and there's no reason we can not get these new vaccines to more people. This must be the goal. We also need to complete the eradication of polio and see that vaccine development program for the next generation moves on.

Q: What about funding? Times are tough for everyone

SB :. IAVI is certainly healthy as an organization, but we believe that the science moves so well, especially around areas of neutralizing antibodies and cellular immunity could be influenced by the funding. The magnitude of what is spent on vaccines against AIDS is relatively small compared to what is spent on all AIDS.

For GAVI, some delivery problems are much more expensive, but vaccination is the most cost effective way to purchase quality-adjusted life years.

Q: Will you spend more time raising money to GAVI at IAVI

SB: I spent much of my current job fundraising. One of the key things is to get governments to prioritize immunization as the most cost-effective programs. You must fund your immunization program before anything else.

Q :. Any idea who will replace you

SB: The IAVI Board will discuss at its next meeting in a few weeks. I'll stick to June.

Q: Why do you think that this is the right time to leave IAVI

SB: Everyone you said in the advisory management by the time you know you have stayed too long in a job, you've been there too long. I went to IAVI for 17 years. This organization is my baby. I love the challenge and the organization. But it is the nature of the will of a leader to take a new challenge. GAVI's next. And it is where IAVI will look to once we develop a vaccine against AIDS.

Celebrate the holidays safely

While the holidays are a chance to celebrate with family and friends , emergencies can happen at any time. You can keep your joyful holiday by following these safety tips: Beware of candles. Keep open flames away from other objects such as Christmas trees and never leave a burning candle unattended.

• Choose gifts for children wisely. Avoid toys with sharp edges or parts that can detach, causing a choking hazard.
• Travel safely. Always wear a seatbelt and provide emergency supplies such as flashlights and blankets.
• Decorate with care. When hanging decorations, use a step stool instead of furniture.

The Grove Adventist Hospital emergency department Shady, Shady Grove Adventist Emergency Center in Germantown, and Washington Adventist service emergencies are busy 24 hours a day, seven days a week to meet the needs of urgency of our community. If you are having an emergency, call 9-1-1 immediately. We wish you a happy holiday season and without emergency!

Rejection hurts, but for organ transplant patients, it is more a question emotional it can be a matter of life and the death. Having waited for months, sometimes years, for a donor and survived a major surgery, transplant patients face a difficult battle to prevent their immune systems from rejecting their new organ. Now a new test in which the blood of a transplant patient is analyzed for DNA of the donor organ can alert doctors if a serious rejection began, allowing them to try to stop the process.

Approximately 40% of patients experience less transplant acute rejection episode in the first year after receiving an organ. Catch all major immunological reaction is early key to minimizing its effects, especially because most rejection episodes are reversible with a large dose of immunosuppressive drugs. But patients must typically undergo regular biopsies of their new body to monitor his condition; the procedure is both painful and expensive biopsies and also can damage the body, says Hannah Valantine cardiologist at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California. In 09, Valantine developed a noninvasive rejection test based on monitoring the immune system of a patient. AlloMap test became the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved for heart transplants, but it still fails to catch about half of rejection events.

To capture the rest, Valantine recently headed back to the drawing board. This time, she enlists the help of biophysicist Stephen Quake of Stanford. Together they have developed a test which is based on the fact that the genome of a transplanted organ is distinct from its new host. The test monitors the DNA fragments released by the body in the blood when the cells of the tissue graft are naturally ventilated. To validate this strategy, the researchers tried their test stored blood plasma of organ transplant patients, some of whom had had rejection episodes confirmed. During a discharge event, the levels of circulating DNA of the donor organ rise, which represents on average 3% of free DNA in the blood of the recipient, rather than the typical 1%, the researchers report online today in Proceedings of the National Academy of sciences

Valantine hope this test can eliminate the need for regular biopsies as rejection control means. patients often have each month during the first year after transplantation. Instead, doctors would conduct confirmatory biopsy if the results of DNA tests were positive. The new test can detect "very low levels of DNA to predict the rejection," said Valantine, making this more sensible approach than the AlloMap test. If the test can alert doctors to a release earlier, she notes, they can "tinker" with the levels of immunosuppressive drugs rather than going with a "big-gun approach" that lowers the patient's immune system to the point they are at risk of infection and cancer.

Bruce Rosengard, surgical director of the heart transplant program at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, is cautiously optimistic about the new test. "Rejection of organs remains one of the main obstacles to successful transplantation," says -it. "Anything we can do to reduce the number of heart biopsies is a very positive development. ... I think this approach will gain ground quickly enough. "

Valantine hopes to have the new test available to doctors time of year, adding that she sees no reason it can not be used to detect the rejection of other transplanted organs.

how to manage holiday stress

The holidays are a time of joy and celebration, but it is not uncommon for people to feel down or stressed out than usual during this time of year. While the proximity to family and giving spirit can generate excitement for most of us, it can cause tension or sadness in others. The media present the holiday as festive and carefree, the high expectations set that may not be entirely realistic in our complex lives.

A mental health survey in America cites finances, the memories of those lost love, and an abundance of activities that the three main holiday stressors. In addition, the holiday season tends to increase rather than reduce the levels of individuals experiencing high stress for the whole year of stress. A survey American Psychological Association estimates that the additional responsibilities often assumed by women during the holiday vacation increases the stress levels of the most significant women than men.

The link between well-being and emotional health is well established. An abundance of medical research indicates a correlation between high personal stress and increase the incidence of mental and physical health problems. Some of the ways we try to alleviate stress, such as increased food or alcohol consumption can have health consequences in the long term severe ironically that generate more stress.

There are many effective strategies to manage stress during the holidays and throughout the year. For this holiday season more joyful and less stressful, consider the following tips:

Manage your expectations for the holiday season and let you experience your true range of feelings. Not everything about the holidays must be perfect, and it is okay if you are not happy all the time. Knowing that it can reduce the pressure on you and improve your mood.

• care of yourself. Spread activities and obligations to make them more enjoyable.
• Talk with your family about finances and create a reasonable budget. This is crucial in the difficult financial climate today. Consider home or other creative gift options.
• Look to the future, particularly if past holiday memories are not desirable. Each holiday season is a new opportunity, and may be different from the last.
• Do something nice for someone else. Voluntary work or charitable acts can be true expressions of holiday gifts that benefit both the giver and recipient.
• Enjoy free activities, such as holiday concerts or a walk through the city to see the decorations.
• Establish new traditions with family or people you are closest to.
• Accept help holiday-related responsibilities. Allow others to share in decorating, cooking and shopping.
• Surround yourself with caring people. Reaching out to new friends or reconnect with that special someone you've lost touch with.
• Save some time for yourself! Maintain your routine as much as possible, incorporate exercise and other activities related to self-care

Seek additional emotional support if necessary. Family doctors or clergy can provide help and valuable resources to help manage stress.

Sources: Mental Health America, SAMHSA, American Psychological Association, Your lawyer EAP, and Washington and Shady Grove Adventist hospitals. For more information, consult your doctor.

The Rwandan government, in collaboration with two companies, announced today the start of a cervical cancer prevention program uterine first national African country to do so. Companies, Merck and Qiagen, will make substantial donations to help immunize girls against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer, and screen adult women to infection by the virus.

Many countries in the Western world have implemented immunization programs against HPV using either Gardasil Merck or another of GlaxoSmithKline. On paper, the vaccine could save many more lives in developing countries where Pap smears to help detect early stages of cancer are not commonly used. But cost more vaccines than $ 300 for three doses has been a major obstacle.

Under the agreement, Merck will donate more than 2 million doses of Gardasil for the first 3 years of a national program targeting girls aged 12 to 15 years. Qiagen will help 250,000 of its testing HPV DNA-based for women aged 35 to 45. Qiagen said the tests are so simple that they can be carried by people with minimal training, even in regions remote.

After 3 years, Rwanda will start to pay for products at lower prices yet to be revealed. Donors should help foot the bill. The companies say they talk to other poor countries about similar programs.

Rwanda will use its network of community health workers to distribute the vaccine, the health minister of the country, Richard Sezibera, said today on the blog of the World Health Sarah Bosely

Rwanda has 60,000 community health workers who help individuals get the care they need. They get women to the clinic for prenatal visits. They help children in the villages get their vaccination plans. We will work with them to ensure that these girls receive all three shots they need.

Much thorough hunt for a mouse retrovirus called XMRV in people who have chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS ) -including in patients who tested positive for the virus in other laboratories, came away empty, further deflating the hope that the cause of this puzzling disease has been found. "I urge people to spend rather than keeping their hopes hung on the link between XMRV and CFS," says Ila Singh, a virologist at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, who led the new study.

the link between XMRV, which means the virus named imperfectly linked to the virus murine leukemia xenotropic and CFS has sparked debate since it was first reported in a study published online 8 October issue Science 09 . Singh's study is the latest of several that have failed to find XMRV in CFS patients. It is also the first to analyze samples from patients who were part of the original study. as Singh and colleagues reported online in the May 4 Journal of Virology , they analyzed blood samples from 100 CFS patients, including 14 who tested positive in Science Report and 0 healthy controls. The team looked for evidence of XMRV in many ways, including fishing for viral sequences with the ultrasensitive PCR test, trying to develop an infectious virus in cell cultures, and scrub the blood of antibodies directed against viral proteins . (Anterior XMRV was linked to prostate cancer, the current study does not address Singh this link.)

"Singh leaned back to try to use the same tests as published, allowing him dropping what I consider to be a true man of straw, but that was still there, "said retrovirologist John Coffin of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Coffin initially supported the Science report, but then concluded, along with many others, that XMRV is a contaminant. In a recent study, it has provided evidence that the virus accidentally origin in mouse laboratory experiments.

Singh said she and her colleagues also had contamination problems. When we used a PCR test that was used in the original report Science , they found 5% of both CFS and control samples tested positive for XMRV. "He was very confused until we thought it was contamination," says Singh. Specifically, they pointed to a PCR reagent, the enzyme Taq polymerase, as the source of the sequences of the mice, they detected. they also found that one of the machines they used to test samples were also contaminated with XMRV in studies they had done months before the current analysis. "All the world working with mice a mouse retrovirus contamination in the lab, "said Coffin." I have probably in my pool house. "

The lead author of the disputed Science paper retrovirologist Judy Mikovits of the Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease in Reno, Nevada, does not convince the inability of Singh group to detect any XMRV. "I'm amazed when I leaned that Ila [Singh] has not," said Mikovits. "These are good scientists."

Mikovits said she is confident that the 14 CFS patients she selected for the Singh group have XMRV in their bodies. "These people are infected," says Mikovits. "This study says nothing. We have confidence in all the bits of the results in Science paper. We do not think this is wrong. There is no evidence of contamination in our lab, and we are commanded that all along. "

Mikovits Singh noted that the group did not use the same protocols for each analysis, and stresses that the differences between their labs may also reflect his own conclusion that the levels vary XMRV in patients daily . Singh contends that although some differences protocols exist, they worked closely with the team Mikovits to reproduce the original work. Singh said the fact they do not find XMRV in any of these patients is important. "She [Mikovits] we made towards patients she had repeatedly tested positive," Singh said. "We would have found at least one that was positive. Not all of them went negative on the day a phlebotomist meeting with them. "

Mikovits warns that his Science report did not state that XMRV causes CFS but only claimed to have detected XMRV in CFS patients. But the great community of CFS patients, who are often faced with a medical institution that challenges the very existence of their disease, pounced on this finding, and some even began taking antiretroviral medications to treat their XMRV infections assumed.

laboratory Singh previously reported that antiretroviral drugs only work against XMRV in test tube studies. But it sets now guard CFS patients that their decision is unjustified and even dangerous.

XMRV saga is far from over. Unlike Coffin and many other skeptics, Singh argues that similar to XMRV virus does infect the man, and his own work supports prostate cancer connection. "There is still a lot of data supporting the link with prostate cancer that can not be easily explained by contamination," she said. "More work needs to be done before this matter can be resolved."

the question whether XMRV infects humans and is linked to the promises of the disease to come to a head later this year, when two different studies sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health are completed. the studies involve both Mikovits and several other independent laboratories test the same samples. Mikovits said if all samples in these studies are negative, including in his own laboratory, the day might come when she changes her mind. "But I do think that to get to this day, "she said.

7 Tips for setting New Year Goals

Each of us has visions on how we would like some aspects of our lives to watch. This is especially true as we make New Year's resolutions every January. Whether losing that extra weight, quitting smoking, more organized, or improve another aspect of our personal and professional lives, we can define a worthy goal. The challenge is to summon the courage to change and maintaining the commitment to achieve it. Careful preparation increases the likelihood of achieving expected results

As you set goals this year, consider the following tips: ..

1. Rate your level of commitment to purpose
2. Express your positive goal, in terms of "I will" rather than "I will not do it."
3. Set specific, measurable and achievable. Be clear in terms of time, dates and amounts when and where you will measure your success.
4. Prioritize your goals when you have several of them to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
5. Write your goals to give concreteness. Keep your notes where you can see them frequently track your progress and.
6. Break larger goals or long-term in a set of small steps. Keep the steps you are immediately working towards (daily or weekly goals) realistic and achievable.
7. Build in rewards and plan for an occasional setbacks.