WHO Predicts ‘Explosion’ of Swine Flu Cases
August 20, 2009
Associated Press
By Gillian Wong
The global spread of swine flu will endanger more lives as it speeds up in coming months and governments must boost preparations for a swift response, the World Health Organization said Friday.
There will soon be a period of further global spread of the virus, and most countries may see swine flu cases double every three to four days for several months until peak transmission is reached, said WHO’s Western Pacific director, Shin Young-soo.
“At a certain point, there will seem to be an explosion in case numbers,” Shin told a symposium of health officials and experts in Beijing. “It is certain there will be more cases and more deaths.”
WHO has declared the swine flu strain a pandemic, and it has killed almost 1,800 people worldwide through last week. International attention has focused on how the pandemic is progressing in southern hemisphere countries such as Australia, which are experiencing winter and their flu season.
But it is in developing countries where the accelerated spread of swine flu poses the greatest threat as it places underequipped and underfunded health systems under severe strain, Shin said.
WHO earlier estimated that as many as 2 billion people could become infected over the next two years — nearly one-third of the world’s population.
Health officials and drug makers are looking into ways to speed up production of a vaccine before the northern hemisphere enters its flu season in coming months. Estimates for when a vaccine will be available range from September to December.
Delegates from Bangladesh and Myanmar appealed for help in procuring vaccines or making them more affordable for poorer countries, saying they were left vulnerable while rich nations pre-ordered most of the available stock.
“Developing countries like us, we have to fight this war without vaccines,” said Mya Oo, deputy health minister of Myanmar. He urged pharmaceutical companies to consider selling the vaccines to developing countries at just above cost.
WHO’s flu chief, Keiji Fukuda, said the agency was working hard on the issue, and noted that two drug makers had pledged to donate 150 million doses of vaccine to poorer countries by the end of October. He said more research was needed to determine how vaccines will be priced.
“Among the many pandemic response issues, this is probably the most critical issue: how we mobilize the vaccines, how we get them to developing countries,” Fukuda said.
WHO has stressed that most cases of swine flu are mild and require no treatment, but the fear is that a rash of new infections could overwhelm hospitals and health authorities, especially in poorer countries.
Shin said governments must act quickly to educate the public, prepare their health systems to care for severe cases and protect those deemed more vulnerable to prevent unnecessary deaths.
“We only have a short time period to reach the state of preparedness deemed necessary,” Shin said. “Communities must be aware before a pandemic strikes as to what they can do to reduce the spread of the virus, and how to obtain early treatment of severe cases.”
Pregnant women face a higher risk of complications, and the virus also has more severe effects on people with underlying medical conditions such as asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune disorders and diabetes, WHO chief Margaret Chan said in a video address.
The last pandemic — the Hong Kong flu of 1968 — killed about 1 million people. Ordinary flu kills about 250,000 to 500,000 people each year.
Swine flu is also continuing to spread during summer in the northern hemisphere. Normally, flu viruses disappear with warm weather, but swine flu is proving to be resilient.
Click here for the full report from the Associated Press
Mounting Joblessness Fuels US Housing Crisis
August 20, 2009
Financial Times
By Saskia Scholtes
More than one in every eight homeowners with a mortgage was behind on home loan payments or in some stage of foreclosure at the end of the second quarter, as mounting unemployment aggravated the housing crisis, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.
The percentage of loans that were in foreclosure or at least one payment past due rose to 13.16 per cent, the highest increase since the MBA began keeping records in 1972 and a jump of more than a percentage point since the first quarter.
Jay Brinkmann, chief economist at the MBA, said signs were growing that mortgage performance is being affected more by unemployment than by the structure of risky home loans, indicating a new stage in the foreclosure crisis that may not be easily addressed by government loan modification programmes.
While the proportion of foreclosures started on borrowers with subprime adjustable-rate mortgages fell dramatically in the second quarter, foreclosure starts on traditional prime fixed-rate loans saw a dramatic increase. Prime fixed-rate loans accounted for one in three foreclosure starts at the end of the second quarter. A year ago they accounted for one in five.
“There has been a shift in the problem from one driven by the types of loans to one driven by macro problems in the economy and drops in house prices,” said Mr Brinkmann.
Florida continued to be the worst state in the union for mortgage performance, closely followed by Nevada. Florida has 12 per cent of its mortgages in some stage of foreclosure – the highest in the country – while 23 per cent of the Florida mortgage market is at least one payment overdue. This is almost twice the national average if Florida’s performance is excluded.
The next highest states were Nevada at 21.3 per cent of loans at least one payment past due, Arizona at 16.3 per cent and Michigan at 15.3 per cent.
The new figures come as mortgage lenders and servicers, which collect home loan payments, begin implementing President Barack Obama’s housing market rescue plan. The second quarter saw 38 mortgage servicers modifying home loan terms under the programme, sending out more than 400,000 modification offers and beginning 230,000 trial modifications.
While these programmes have had an impact on holding foreclosure rates below where they would otherwise be, Mr Brinkmann said many of the foreclosures involved homes that were vacant, borrowers who no longer had jobs, or loans where there was fraud involved.
As a result, said Mr Brinkmann, “it is unlikely we will see meaningful reductions in the foreclosure and delinquency rates until the employment situation improves.” Mr Brinkmann expects the peak in foreclosures to lag the peak in unemployment by around 6 months.
Click here for the full report from the Financial Times
Here Are a Few of My Natural Cures Revealed!
August 20, 2009 by KT
Filed under Kevin's Blog
This week I revealed my secret natural cures to such ailments as; allergies, constipation, pain, acid reflux, heart burn, insomnia, snoring, AND emotional issues!
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**For heartburn and acid reflux, click here to learn about the Dr. Jeff McComb’s plan and here for Dr. Morter’s Health System.
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**For allergies, click here for an energy-based allergy relief program.
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**For constipation, first do Dr. Coldwell’s Be Pure Cleanse by clicking here and then click here to purchase products from QN Labs.
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**For insomnia, click here to purchase a Magnetico Sleep Pad and never have a restless night of sleep again!
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**To eliminate snoring, click here to purchase Snor Enz.
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**For a full detox retreat, Kevin recommends We Care Spa. Click here for more information on this holistic health spa.
For the full list, click here and listen to Wednesday’s Show.
Blackwater ‘Hired for CIA Plan’
August 20, 2009 by Andrew
Filed under Government
August 20, 2009
BBC News
The CIA hired contractors from the US private security firm Blackwater as part of a secret programme to track and kill top al-Qaeda figures, reports say.
The New York Times quotes current and ex-government officials as saying Blackwater helped the CIA with planning, training and surveillance.
Several million dollars were spent on the programme but no militants were caught or captured, the report says.
Blackwater staff were used to guard US government personnel in Iraq from 2003.
But they were accused of using excessive force on a number of occasions, including the killing of 17 civilians in Baghdad in 2007.
The North Carolina-based firm has not had its licence to operate in Iraq renewed.
The company, which was founded by Erik Prince, has since been re-named Xe.
Lethal authority
The New York Times reports that the CIA did not have a formal contract with Blackwater for the programme to locate and kill senior members of al-Qaeda.
Instead, they had individual agreements with top officials in the firm, the paper goes on to say.
It is not clear whether the US spy agency planned to use Blackwater contractors to actually capture and kill the militants, or just help with the training and surveillance of the programme, the report says.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that the assassination programme was initially launched in 2001 as a CIA-led effort to kill or capture top al-Qaeda figures using the agency’s paramilitary forces.
But in 2004, after briefly terminating the programme, the CIA decided to revive it using outside contractors, the Post quotes officials as saying.
Leon Panetta – who became director of the CIA under President Obama’s administration – is said to have learnt about the secret programme in June.
The next day he called an emergency meeting with congressional intelligence committees to tell them about its existence, and to say that it was being cancelled.
The New York Times quotes officials as saying the fact that the CIA used an outside company for the programme was a major reason Mr Panetta became alarmed and called the meeting.
Although some controversial work, including the interrogation of prisoners, has been outsourced in recent years, the fact that outsiders were used in a programme with “lethal authority” raised concerns about accountability in covert operations, officials were quoted as saying.
The House of Representatives’ intelligence committee is investigating whether the CIA broke the law by not informing Congress about the programme for eight years.
Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate intelligence committee, said last month that Mr Panetta told Congress former Vice-President Dick Cheney was behind the secrecy.
But some Republicans accuse the Democrats of trying to make political capital from the situation.
“I think there was a little more drama and intrigue than was warranted,” Representative Peter Hoekstra, the most senior Republican on the House intelligence committee, told the Times.
Click here for the full report from BBC News
Glaxo Used Ghostwriting Program to Promote Paxil
August 19, 2009
ABC News
By Matthew Perrone
Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline used a sophisticated ghostwriting program to promote its antidepressant Paxil, allowing doctors to take credit for medical journal articles mainly written by company consultants, according to court documents obtained by The Associated Press.
An internal company memo instructs salespeople to approach physicians and offer to help them write and publish articles about their positive experiences prescribing the drug.
Known as the CASPPER program, the paper explains how the company can help physicians with everything from “developing a topic,” to “submitting the manuscript for publication.”
The document was uncovered by the Baum Hedlund PC law firm of Los Angeles, which is representing hundreds of former Paxil users in personal injury and wrongful death suits against GlaxoSmithKline. The firm alleges the company downplayed several risks connected with its drug, including increased suicidal behavior and birth defects.
A spokeswoman for London-based Glaxo said the published articles noted any assistance to the main authors.
“The program was not heavily used and was discontinued a number of years ago,” said Mary Anne Rhyne.
According to the memo, which dates from April 2000, the CASPPER program was designed to “strengthen the product positioning and overcome competitive issues.”
At the time, Paxil was competing with rival antidepressant blockbusters like Eli Lilly’s Prozac and Pfizer’s Zoloft. Paxil has since lost its patent protection and competes against cheaper generic versions. Sales of Paxil last year totaled $849 million.
Drug companies frequently hire outside firms to draft a manuscript touting a company’s drug, retain a physician to sign off as the author and then find a publisher to unwittingly publish the work.
But the use of ghostwriting by drug companies has come under increased scrutiny by members of Congress, including Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a longtime critic of the industry’s influence over physicians. Grassley and Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., are pushing a bill that would require companies to disclose all payments to physicians over $100.
According to ghostwriting expert Dr. Leemon McHenry, Glaxo’s program was unusually intertwined with its internal sales and marketing department.
“We know that GSK has engaged in ghostwriting for many years,” said McHenry, who works as a research consultant for Baum Hedlund. “But to create an internal ghostwriting program and have the gall to name it after a cartoon ghost demonstrates their juvenile attitude and careless disregard for patients.”
McHenry acknowledged that ghostwriting is legal in principal, but said it could contribute to illegal activity if the information is misleading and causes harm.
“If these ghostwritten publications are contributing to the harm of patients because they’re making false claims, then that’s illegal,” McHenry said.
Articles from the company’s program appeared in five journals between 2000 and 2002, including the American Journal of Psychiatry and the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Drug company salespeople often present medical journal articles to physicians as independent proof that their drugs are safe and effective.
Publication in a medical journal also is a point of prestige for physicians, a fact Glaxo’s memo seems to acknowledge: “Physicians will be eager to participate in CASPPER regardless of their professional stature,” the brief notes.
Click here for the full report from ABC News
Mercury Pollution Widespread In US Streams
August 20, 2009
RedOrbit
A new federal study suggests that fish cannot escape mercury pollution.
The study, conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, tested fish from nearly 300 streams across the country for traces of mercury, and found that every sampled fish contained the substance.
Although all the fish had traces of mercury, only a quarter had levels considered unsafe for human consumption.
Over a thousand fish were tested from 1998 to 2005 for the study.
“This science sends a clear message that our country must continue to confront pollution, restore our nation’s waterways, and protect the public from potential health dangers,” said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement.
Mercury can cause learning disabilities in young children, and can also damage the nervous system if consumed.
According to researchers, the majority of mercury found in the streams was from coal-fired plant emissions. The mercury released from smokestacks finds its way into streams due to rainfall. Once in the waterways, the mercury is converted into methylmercury, which allows it to work its way through the food chain.
The highest levels of mercury were found in fish that lived in blackwater streams along the coasts of the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida and Louisiana. Bacteria in these regions help the conversion process.
The concentration was also high in largemouth bass from the North Fork of the Edisto River near Fairview Crossroads, S.C.
“Unfortunately, it’s the case that almost any fish you test will have mercury now,” said Andrew Rypel, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Mississippi.
According to Rypel, research has shown mercury in fish from Alaska, Canada, and even fish that live deep in the ocean.
The most contaminated sample came from smallmouth bass collected from the Carson River at Dayton, Nev., an area that contains a number of gold mines.
“Some ecosystems are more sensitive than others,” Barbara Scudder, the lead USGS scientist on the study, told the AP.
All states but Alaska and Wyoming have issued fish-consumption warnings due to mercury contamination.
“This is showing that the problem is much more widespread,” said Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst for the Environmental Working Group
“If you are living in an area that doesn’t have a mercury advisory, you should use caution,” she said.
The Obama administration said it would begin crafting regulations for mercury emissions earlier this year. A previous plan drafted by the Bush administration was thrown out by a federal appeals court.
The Bush plan would have allowed companies to buy and sell pollutions credits, similar to a greenhouse gas emissions bill that was passed in the US House of Representatives in June.
The US Environmental Protection Agency has also proposed new regulations to lower mercury emissions from cement plants.
Click here for the full report from RedOrbit
Eating Curry Fights Dementia
August 20, 2009
Natural News
By David Gutierrez
Regular consumption of curry could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, according to a study conducted by researchers from Duke University and presented at the annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
“If you have a good diet and take plenty of exercise, eating curry regularly could help prevent dementia,” researcher Murali Doraiswamy said.
Researchers conducted experiments on the effects of curcumin, a biologically active ingredient of the essential curry spice turmeric.
“There is very solid evidence that curcumin binds to plaques, and basic research on animals engineered to produce human amyloid plaques has shown benefits,” Doraiswamy said. “You can modify a mouse so that at about 12 months its brain is riddled with plaques. If you feed this rat a curcumin-rich diet, it dissolves these plaques. The same diet prevented younger mice from forming new plaques.”
Amyloid plaques and nerve fiber tangles are thought to be among the causative agents of the brain damage that produces the symptoms of dementia.
A clinical trial is currently underway at the University of California-Los Angeles to see if curcumin has the same benefits in human Alzheimer’s patients as in mice. According to Doraiswamy, the evidence suggests that human beings would need to eat two to three meals of curry per week to lower their risk of dementia.
Because it would take more than 100 grams of curry powder to get enough curcumin to count as a clinical dose, scientists are exploring the possibility of developing a curcumin pill.
Doraiswamy warned, however, that even consuming massive amounts of curcumin could not compensate for a bad diet and sedentary lifestyle, two of the biggest risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.
Previous research has shown that curcumin also improves the symptoms of cancer and arthritis, and may help suppress the growth of body fat.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
The Kevin Trudeau Show: 08-19-09
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Allergies
Constipation
Pain
Acid Reflux
Heartburn
Insomnia
Snoring
Emotional issues
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Coconuts May Be Nature’s Gatorade
August 16, 2009
ABC News
By Shana Rigby
Dietician: ‘With the Coconut Water, We Actually Have a Mix of Electrolytes’
The word coconut probably brings to mind images of tropical beaches and palm trees. But for hundreds of years the coconut has been a dietary staple for cultures all over the globe.
The coconut has been much maligned in the past for its fat content, but as new information has come out regarding the health benefits of coconuts, products from this functional food have started invading shelves across America.
The coconut is a member of the palm tree family. It’s not a fruit, though it can be found in the produce section — and, despite its name, a coconut is not a tree nut.
Because of that, coconut products are safe for those with tree nut allergies.
The coconut also provides different products at different stages of its gestation.
Young baby coconuts look like green water balloons and are filled with water. Coconut water, unlike coconut milk, contains no fat and more potassium than a banana.
The health benefits of coconut water have been attracting the most attention.
“With the coconut water, we actually have a mix of electrolytes,” says Ashley Koff, a registered dietician. “I like to call coconut water ‘nature’s Gatorade.’”
The electrolytes, with help from the potassium, help the body absorb water better.
“It actually goes straight into our blood stream,” Koff says, “so it’s extremely hydrating.”
Mature coconuts are the kind most consumers are familiar with. They have a hard, hairy shell. They contain milk and oil — and all the fat and protein that have turned people off for years.
“For a long time, when we were hearing about saturated fat, coconut oil was off limits,” says Koff. “But interestingly, the type of fat in here is medium chain fatty acids. And that is a type of fatty acid that goes right through our digestive system, so it’s actually beneficial for us there.”
Because coconut oil has such a higher burn point, higher than olive oil, it is great for cooking.
Though coconuts can be a healthier option, Koff warns, “We do have to be conscious of things like sugar and fat content.”
Coconut water, though it does have sugar, has significantly less sugar than most fruit juices. An 11 oz. container of coconut water contains 15 grams of sugar, but Koff says that’s about as much as in 4 oz. of apple juice.
Coconut products are all over the shelves at the grocery store these days. You can buy raw coconut, coconut water, oil, even yogurt and ice cream.
Coconut milk can be a good alternative for people with dairy allergies.
When buying a raw coconut, check how soft the shell is and give it a good shake. You should hear liquid inside.
Click here for the full report from ABC News
CDC Report Stirs Controversy For Merck’s Gardasil Vaccine
August 19, 2009
ABC News
By Radha Chitale
A government report released Tuesday raises new questions about the safety of the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil. The vaccine has been linked to 32 unconfirmed deaths and shows higher incidences of fainting and blood clots than other vaccines.
But while some physicians expressed concern over the findings, other doctors viewed the report as reassuring, showing that the vaccine was not associated with any more unusual and serious side effects as other vaccines.
The results of the report appeared along with an accompanying editorial discussing whether the potential benefit of the HPV vaccine is worth its potential risks in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The editorial, in particular, could give pause to many parents faced with the decision of whether or not to have their 11- and 12-year-old daughters vaccinated against the certain strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.
On Wednesday morning, ABC News Chief Medical Editor Dr. Timothy Johnson said that he, too, would encourage parents to learn more about the shot before getting their daughters vaccinated.
“I am very much in favor of childhood vaccines,” Johnson told Chris Cuomo on Wednesday’s “Good Morning America,” adding that there is little doubt that the vaccine does have its benefits.
“We know it does what it says it prevents HPV infections,” he said.
But he added that when it comes to comparing the benefits of the HPV vaccine against its potential risks, he believes there simply is not enough evidence to recommend to all parents that they have their daughters vaccinated.
“I don’t think we yet know the long term benefits or risks,” Johnson said. “I’m taking a pass on this one and saying to parents, ‘Study the issue, read the editorial… talk to your doctor.’”
Those who search for more information on the vaccine may also find stories from other parents who say the vaccine had ill effects on their daughters. One of these parents, Emily Tarsell, started her daughter Christina on Gardasil — a vaccine that protects against four of the most common cancer-causing strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV) — after her first visit to a gynecologist and at the doctor’s recommendation.
Eighteen days after Christina received her final vaccine shot, she died.
“I know it was the Gardasil,” Tarsell said, although the official cause of death was undetermined. “They were really recommending it, saying that there weren’t any side effects, that it was safe. So I kind of went against my better instinct [and let her] get the shot.”
Deaths like Christina’s are one of several types of complications reported to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) following Gardasil distribution in 2006. Some of these adverse events were serious, including blood clots and neurological disorders, and some were non-life threatening side effects from the vaccine, including fainting, nausea and fever.
Although experts agree that the accuracy of data from VAERS reports — which can be made by anyone and are not verified or controlled for quality — is questionable, they remain divided as to whether extreme adverse events, which are serious but rare, are cause enough to stop recommending and administering the Gardasil vaccine without further investigation.
Report Shows Rare But Serious Side Effects May Result From Gardasil Vaccine
“Although the number of serious adverse events is small and rare, they are real and cannot be overlooked or dismissed without disclosing the possibility to all other possible vaccine recipients,” said Dr. Diane Harper, director of the Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Research Group at University of Missouri. “The rate of serious adverse events is greater than the incidence rate of cervical cancer.”
As of June 1, 2009, the CDC reported that over 25 million doses of Gardasil, which is recommended for women between ages 9-26, have been distributed in the U.S. and there was an average of 53.9 VAERS reports per 100,000 vaccine doses. Of these, 40 percent occurred on the day of vaccination, and 6.2 percent were serious, including 32 reports of death.
In a statement yesterday from Merck, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Gardasil, the company backed the vaccine’s efficacy and said they encourage further research on its safety.
“We are pleased that the study published by JAMA [yesterday] further reinforces the safety profile of Gardasil,” said Dr. Richard M. Haupt, head of the clinical program for Gardasil at Merck. “We welcome continued study and discussion about the safety of this important vaccine.”
But some clinicians are not ready to accept wide use of the drug based on the available safety data.
Dr. Jaques Moritz, director of gynecology at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital, said he would not offer the Gardasil vaccine to patients when good cervical cancer screening techniques and treatments exist. He has also chosen not to have his 11-year-old daughter get the HPV shot because of his concerns.
“I’m pro preventing cervical cancer and HPV,” Moritz said. “I’m not pro that the physicians don’t know the risks and side effects.”
Click here to continue reading the full report from ABC News
