Monday, December 30, 2013

Why Are Babies Dying in China After Receiving the Hepatitis B Vaccine?



chinese baby with doctor Why Are Babies Dying in China After Receiving the Hepatitis B Vaccine?

Health Impact News

At least nine babies have died in China the past few weeks after being injected with the Hepatitis B vaccine.
In China, the Hepatitis B vaccine is given in three stages. The first shot is taken immediately after birth. The second and third shots of the vaccine are taken after a baby is one month and then six months old.
The pharmaceutical company manufacturing the vaccine has conducted quality control tests on the batch currently in the market, and has not found anything wrong with the vaccine. Similar statements have been made by health authorities:
The drug supervision department in Shenzhen says their test results indicate the vaccines were safe.
“According to our investigation, BioKangtai has produced the vaccine strictly under required standards. And their samples have passed our tests.” Wang Lifeng with Drug Administration of Shenzhen said.
The deaths, which have occurred within a very short time after receiving the vaccine, are gaining wide exposure in the China media. Because vaccines are almost always promoted as safe, injuries and deaths often are not associated with the vaccine, so there may be more deaths than have currently been reported. One of the deaths was reported by a family member after hearing about other babies dying shortly after receiving the vaccine in the media. When the family originally was fighting to save the baby from dying, they had not suspected the vaccine.


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NY Times

China Investigates Vaccine Maker After Deaths of Infants


SHANGHAI — Health authorities in China are investigating one of the nation’s biggest vaccine makers after eight infants died in the past two months following injections that were meant to immunize them against hepatitis B.

The government said this week that it had suspended the use of millions of doses of a hepatitis B vaccine produced by the manufacturer, Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products. Government inspectors have been sent to examine the company’s facilities.
Six of the deaths have been linked to vaccines produced by Shenzhen Kangtai; the two other infant deaths occurred recently after the use of a hepatitis B vaccine produced by another drug maker, Beijing Tiantan Biological Products. The government did not say whether any action had been taken against Beijing Tiantan or its vaccines. Investigators have not determined the cause of the deaths or linked them directly to the injections, but the cases come at a time of growing public concern in China about food and drug safety problems.
In recent years, China has been troubled by a series of scandals, including tainted rice and milk and the mysterious appearance of thousands of dead pigs floating in the Huangpu River in Shanghai. China has vowed repeatedly to crack down on food and drug safety violations and has moved to strengthen the powers of health officials.
In the vaccine cases, the government is focusing on the role of Shenzhen Kangtai, a privately run drug maker formed in 1992 with government support and the cooperation of the American pharmaceutical company Merck.


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Strontium, PFOA and toxic chemicals found in one-third of U.S. water supply


Sunday, December 29, 2013 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer

water
(NaturalNews) You may want to think twice before further drinking or even bathing in unfiltered tap water, as a new report set to be published next year has found that a striking percentage of the U.S. water supply is contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides and other toxic chemicals. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that an astounding one-third of U.S. water systems contain traces of at least 18 unregulated and potentially hazardous contaminants, many of which are linked to causing endocrine disruption and cancer.

Based on a nationwide survey of 25 unnamed water utilities, scientists found traces of the herbicide metolachlor, for instance, a pesticide commonly applied to conventional corn, soy, cotton, safflower, potato and other crops, as well as the heavy metal strontium, which is linked to causing bone problems. Other chemicals identified include so-called perfluorinated compounds like perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which numerous scientific studies have found can cause thyroid disease and various types of cancer.

"Traces of 18 unregulated chemicals were found in drinking water from more than one-third of U.S. water utilities in a nationwide sampling," reports Environmental Health News (EHN). "Included are 11 perfluorinated compounds, an herbicide, two solvents, caffeine, an antibacterial compound, a metal and an antidepressant."

More than 250 potential hazardous compounds detected in tap water

Among the 25 water samples, more than 250 chemicals, bacteria, viruses and microbes were identified, but only 134 of these were detected in treated drinking water. As many as eight of the treated water samples collected contained upwards of 113 chemicals. According to the researchers, water samples were taken from a range of water utilities, including both large and small plants and plants using varying treatment technologies.

"The good news is the concentrations are generally pretty low," stated Dana Kolpin, a research hydrologist from USGS who helped work on the study. "But there's still the unknown. Are there long-term consequences of low-level exposure to these chemicals?"

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Sunday, December 22, 2013

Swedish Medical Center of Seattle suggests HIV tests to 27 patients after sterilization error

Hospital suggests HIV tests to 27 patients after sterilization error


by KING 5 News
Posted on December 21, 2013 at 10:55 AM
Updated today at 12:20 PM
Swedish Medical Center continues to investigate why staff did not properly sterilize a piece of ultrasound equipment, potentially compromising the health of 27 patients.
The unsterilized equipment was used between September 19 and December 10.
"I was so enraged. I was like, 'Oh my God,'" one patient said.
He spoke to KING 5 on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive topic and how it might affect his job. After a recent visit to the hospital, he received a phone call and letter notifying him that equipment used during the surgical procedure may put him at risk for infectious disease. 
Immediately, he returned to Swedish Medical Center for a blood test to check for HIV and Hepatitis B and C. 
"I cannot tell you how angry I was," he explained. "It was terrible."
Chief Medical Officer Dr. John Vassall calls the mistake a "human error," one they're still investigating. Of the four decontamination steps taken, staff missed the last one.

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Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The Selling of ADHD: Diagnoses, Prescriptions Soar After 20-Year Marketing Effort by Big Pharma

Part 1

democracynow democracynow·


   

Part 2

   



Published on Dec 17, 2013
http://www.democracynow.org - Taken at face value, the latest figures on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) suggest a growing epidemic in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 15 percent of high school children are diagnosed with ADHD. The number of those on stimulant medication is at 3.5 million, up from 600,000 two decades ago. ADHD is now the second most common long-term diagnosis in children, narrowly trailing asthma. But a new report in the New York Times questions whether these staggering figures reflect a medical reality, or an over-medicated craze that has earned billions in profits for the pharmaceutical companies involved.
Watch Part 2 of this discussion: http://youtu.be/FOvzcK6wO0k
Sales for ADHD drugs like Adderall and Concerta topped $9 billion in the United States last year, a more than 500 percent jump from a decade before. The radical spike in diagnoses has coincided with a 20-year marketing effort to promote stimulant prescriptions for children struggling in school, as well as for adults seeking to take control of their lives. The marketing effort has relied on studies and testimonials from a select group of doctors who have received massive speaking fees and funding grants from major pharmaceutical companies. We are joined by four guests: Alan Schwarz, an award-winning reporter who wrote the New York Times piece, "The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder"; Jamison Monroe, a former teenage Adderall addict who now runs Newport Academy, a treatment center for teens suffering from substance abuse and mental health issues; Dr. Gabor Maté, a physician and bestselling author of four books, including "Scattered: How Attention Deficit Disorder Originates and What You Can Do About It"; and John Edwards, the father of a college student who committed suicide after he was prescribed Adderall and antidepressant medications at the Harvard University Health Services clinic.
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Forbes


Is ADHD A Pretext For Selling Speed?

Jacob Sullum, Contributor
New York Times reporter Alan Schwarz, who for the last year or two has been wondering what’s up with all the speed kids are taking these days, has a long article in Sunday’s paper on “The Selling of Attention Deficit Disorder.” Unfortunately, Schwarz barely mentions the American Psychiatric Association (APA), the organization that identified ADD, later relabeled “attention deficit hyperactivity disorder” (ADHD), as a disease that can be treated with prescription stimulants such as Adderall, Ritalin, and Vyvanse. Instead he focuses on the companies that make those stimulants, which he accuses of encouraging “overdiagnosis” to maximize sales. Schwarz surely is right that companies such as Shire, which sells Adderall, and Ciba-Geigy, which makes Ritalin, have a financial interest in pushing as broad a definition of ADHD as possible. But none of this would be possible without the APA’s blessing, and Schwarz pays scant attention to the problem of saying whether someone does or does not have a disease for which there is no objective test. Here is the sole reference to the APA in his 5,300-word story:
Like most psychiatric conditions, A.D.H.D. has no definitive test, and most experts in the field agree that its symptoms are open to interpretation by patients, parents and doctors. The American Psychiatric Association, which receives significant financing from drug companies, has gradually loosened the official criteria for the disorder to include common childhood behavior like “makes careless mistakes” or “often has difficulty waiting his or her turn.”
ADHD, like every other condition listed in the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, is whatever the current edition of the DSM says it is. Since the official definition is broad and “open to interpretation,” it is hard to know what Schwarz means by “overdiagnosis.” Here is his best stab at explaining:
Few dispute that classic A.D.H.D., historically estimated to affect 5 percent of children, is a legitimate disability that impedes success at school, work and personal life. Medication often assuages the severe impulsiveness and inability to concentrate, allowing a person’s underlying drive and intelligence to emerge.
But even some of the field’s longtime advocates say the zeal to find and treat every A.D.H.D. child has led to too many people with scant symptoms receiving the diagnosis and medication.
Evidently Schwarz accepts the legitimacy of Classic ADHD while turning up his nose at New ADHD. But since neither purported disease can be objectively verified, it is not clear on what basis Schwarz prefers the narrower definition. It seems to me that Schwarz, who started his career as a sports reporter, is making a moral judgment about when it is acceptable to use performance-enhancing drugs: If you have a “legitimate disability,” it’s OK, but not if you are merely trying to turn a B+ into an A. He dresses up this moral judgment in the language of medical science, but it remains a moral judgment, and a questionable one at that.

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Monday, December 16, 2013

Utah Public Health Bans Gardasil Vaccine citing low demand, high costs - and questioning the benefits

PreventDisease.com

Dec 15, 2013 by DAVE MIHALOVIC
Citing low demand, high costs - and questioning the benefits, Utah’s Public Department of Health does not stock or recommend Gardasil HPV vaccine. The decision to exclude the vaccine from its public health clinics was made by the agency’s director, contrary to the area's Board of Health.

Utah Public Health Bans Gardasil Vaccine photo UtahPublicHealthBansGardasilVaccine_zps12f8df3f.jpg

“The backlash and sentiment against it was strong enough that there’s no reason to go there,” physician David Blodgett explained. “No one wants it and it’s too expensive when we’re not funded to provide it.”
The vaccine isn’t mandated in Utah. But the Utah Department of Health has been recommending it for preteen girls since 2006, and for boys since 2011.
At 42 percent, Utah ranks lowest in the nation for completion of the three-injection series among girls who start it.
Unproven Science and Increasing Reports of Side Effects
Official reasons for the slow uptake are varied, but informed parents who have increasingly become skeptical of vaccination, especially the HPV vaccine are likely making the difference.
Just a few months ago, hundreds of adverse reactions from the cervical cancer vaccine in Japan caused vaccine injuries and disability in many teenagers courtesy of Cervarix and Gardasil HPV injections. In July, 2013, the Japanese health ministry issued a nationwide notice that cervical cancer vaccinations should no longer be recommended in Japan. Japanese teens who received the vaccines are now in wheelchairs with damage to their brains and spinal cord.
The HPV vaccine is possibly the biggest vaccine hoax in the last century. HPV vaccines are nothing more than a worldwide exercise in profiteering at the expense of children's health. Due to the overwhelming amount of side effects associated with the vaccine, health agencies are now encouraging health professionals not to report adverse reactions, a clear indication that something is very wrong.
Earlier this month, Mr. Jean-Christophe Coubris, defence lawyer for Marie-Oceane, a HPV vaccine injured teen, has filed charges with the French public prosecutor in Bobigny, in the outskirts of Paris, against both Laboratoire Sanofi Pasteur MSD and the French authority Agence Nationale du Medicament (ANSM), the French National Medicines Agency, for breach of their manifest duty to ensure safety and for disregard of the precautionary and prevention principles.
“To be dissuaded by cost issues, or to not stock the vaccine due to low public demand, is disingenuous, especially for someone with responsibilities to protect the public,” said said William Cosgrove, a pediatrician in Murray and a member of the Utah Scientific Immunization Advisory Committee. “I believe the real medical issues here are clouded by a moralistic belief system that precludes any frank discussion about sexuality in adolescents.”
Blodgett cites other problems with Gardasil, namely that it was fast-tracked through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a belief that its benefits were oversold by drug maker Merck.
Thanks to the wealth of information available on the HPV vaccine, the proportion of insured girls and young women completing the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among those who initiated the series has dropped significantly -- as much as 63 percent -- since the vaccine was approved in 2006, according to new research from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston.
The study, published in Cancer, reveals the steepest decline in vaccine completion among girls and young women aged nine to 18 -- the age group according to medical officials that should receive the vaccine in three doses over six months -- a message that has been drilled into parents for just over five years.
“The science wasn’t good... We had physicians in our community arguing that we not make it available,” said Blodgett.
Just two years ago, a publication in the Annals of Medicine exposed the fraudulent nature of Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. Key messages the researchers report include a lack of evidence for any HPV vaccines in preventing cervical cancer and lack of evaluation of health risks. The researchers stated that physicians should adopt a more rigorous evidence-based medicine approach, in order to provide a balanced and objective evaluation of vaccine risks and benefits to their patients.
The Public Isn't Buying Medical Hype
It’s not the only risk and the vaccine is claimed to cut the risk by only 17 percent. Cancers caused by HPV are extremely rare and vaccination comes with no guarantee for long-term protection and high risk of side effects.
Weighed against the vaccine’s risks, “the public isn’t buying it,” said Blodgett. “It’s eroding public trust in immunization programs.”
“It’s a complicated vaccine that requires discussion about [sexual health] and a physical exam and follow-up visits with a doctor,” said the agency’s director, Joseph Shaffer. “My feeling is that’s better held in the physician’s office than here at the health department.”
Fear that Gardasil is dangerous hasn’t been eased by the FDA’s assurances. The agency approved and monitors the drug and says its safety profile matches those of other vaccines, but the evidence that continues to coming forward from the U.S. and around the world are proving different.
Earlier this month, national talk show host Katie Couric featured a woman on daytime TV who said the HPV vaccine killed her daughter. The show was roundly criticized by other media, including Slate and Forbes magazine.
Sources:
sltrib.com

Dave Mihalovic is a Naturopathic Doctor who specializes in vaccine research, cancer prevention and a natural approach to treatment.

Reference Sources




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4 Effective & Natural DIY Drain Cleaners



4 Effective & Natural DIY Drain Cleaners
By Cris Carl, Hometalk


Having a clogged sink begs the old chestnut about an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure. There are a lot of things that should never go down a drain, especially if you have a septic system. To avoid clogs to begin with, you have to avoid allowing food particles, grease, and hair from going down the drain. It’s helpful to have a small piece of wire mesh over your drains to catch food or hair particles. Just be sure to clean the mesh regularly or it will start to smell.
Now, for a dose of reality, no one is perfect. We have a lazy moment, or the kids are washing the dishes and aren’t paying attention, or we get too busy to notice all that hair in the tub. Sooner or later, you’ll end of with a clogged drain.
I have two drains that tend to clog more often in my house, the tub and the laundry sink. The tub drain gets clogged with hair and body care products. My washing machine drains via a plastic pipe into a laundry sink so fibers and lint build up in the drain.
The problem with commercial drain cleaners is they corrode pipes, are bad for septic systems, are toxic to ground water, and they can damage the materials that your sink or tub are made of. I recently had to change the drain and fixtures on my bathroom sink due to corrosion from commercial cleaners. After that experience, I decided to try non-toxic and far less corrosive methods for clearing pipes.
Before you try a DIY drain cleaner
It’s best to remember to use your DIY drain cleaners routinely before the clogs happen. When you are trying a DIY drain cleaner, it will likely take longer than a commercial drain cleaner. You also may need to repeat your efforts more than once. Many DIY drain cleaners will take up to an hour to work.
Just like in the Heimlich maneuver, look first to see if you can actually see the clog. It’s not a fun task, but put on your rubber gloves and dig the hair and goop out first. You may also want to try plunging the drain and running hot water alternately a couple of times. If the clog is minor, that may be all you need to do.
Baking soda, the top DIY drain cleaner
The most commonly used DIY drain cleaner is using one cup of baking soda and one cup of cider vinegar. The intense foaming action, followed by running plenty of hot water, is good routine maintenance. I have to admit I was surprised the first time I saw the drain pop open after trying this. The tub drain was still pretty slow, so I repeated the method.

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7 Fruits and Vegetables That Boost Your Immune System






7 Fruits and Vegetables That Boost Your Immune System
With cold and flu season just around the corner, now it’s more important than ever to get your immune system in the best shape you can. Getting enough sleep and exercise, and keeping your stress level down, can really do a lot for your health. But having a right diet is just, if not more, important. Luckily, there are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables out there that have immunity-boosting properties.
Tip: Look for foods that are rich in color — that’s a surefire sign that they’re also high in immunity-boosting antioxidants. Red, yellow, purple, blue, and orange fruits and vegetables really fit the bill here.



1. Sweet Potatoes.
And just in time for Thanksgiving! Sweet potatoes owe their orange hue to beta-carotene, an antioxidant that the body converts into Vitamin A, an essential nutrient for fighting against disease. Sweet potatoes are actually one of the best fresh sources of immunity-boosting properties out there.



2. Berries.
Packed with Vitamins C and E,berries truly are a nutritional powerhouse. Some of your best bests are common berries like raspberries and blueberries, as well as less common ones like acai and goji. Try eating berries with yogurt, another great-immunity boosting food.




3. Mushrooms.
Mushrooms are one of, if not the best, vegetarian foods for preventing and fighting disease. That’s because mushrooms help the maturation of your white blood cells, and, as some research suggest, might actually help them ward off disease better!

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Saturday, December 14, 2013

University of Washington Scientists discover double meaning in genetic code

Soubor:DNA molekula života - česky.jpg

The DNA molecule of life   ( Čeština: DNA molekula života - česky )

Human_Genome/graphics/slides
Autor     Modify by Reo On at cs.wikipedia
Original source: http://www.ornl.gov/hgmis
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University of Washington


Scientists discover double meaning in genetic code

Scientists have discovered a second code hiding within DNA. This second code contains information that changes how scientists read the instructions contained in DNA and interpret mutations to make sense of health and disease.
Genome scientist Dr. John Stamatoyannopoulos.
Genome scientist Dr. John Stamatoyannopoulos led a team that discovered a second code hidden in DNA.
A research team led by Dr. John Stamatoyannopoulos, University of Washington associate professor of genome sciences and of medicine, made the discovery. The findings are reported in the Dec. 13 issue of Science.
Read the research paper.  Also see commentary in Science, “The Hidden Codes that Shape Protein Evolution.
The work is part of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements Project, also known as ENCODE. The National Human Genome Research Institute funded the multi-year, international effort. ENCODE aims to discover where and how the directions for biological functions are stored in the human genome.
Since the genetic code was deciphered in the 1960s, scientists have assumed that it was used exclusively to write information about proteins. UW scientists were stunned to discover that genomes use the genetic code to write two separate languages. One describes how proteins are made, and the other instructs the cell on how genes are controlled. One language is written on top of the other, which is why the second language remained hidden for so long.
“For over 40 years we have assumed that DNA changes affecting the genetic code solely impact how proteins are made,” said Stamatoyannopoulos. “Now we know that this basic assumption about reading the human genome missed half of the picture. These new findings highlight that DNA is an incredibly powerful information storage device, which nature has fully exploited in unexpected ways.”

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