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Popular Articles

Close Relationship Between Past Warming And Sea-Level Rise
In a paper in Nature Geoscience, a team from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS), along with colleagues from TÃøbingen (Germany) and Bristol presents a novel continuous reconstruction of sea level fluctuations over the last 520 thousand years. Comparison of this record with data on global climate and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels from Antarctic ice cores suggests that even stabilisation at today"s CO2 levels may commit us to sea-level rise over the next couple of millennia, to a level much higher than long-term projections from the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

New Council Champions Equality And Diversity, UK
A new Equality and Diversity Council that will strengthen the national focus on improving quality in the National Health Service, was announced by the Department of Health today.
News of the day
HIV Transmission In Europe Occurs Primarily In Vacation Destinations, Study Finds
HIV in Europe is transmitted primarily in vacation destinations, according to a study published recently in the journal Retrovirology, the PA/Google.com reports. For the study, researchers led by Dimitrios Paraskevis of the University of Athens analyzed samples of HIV-1 subtype B virus, the most prevalent form of HIV in Europe, from 16 European countries and Israel (PA/Google.com, 5/20). The researchers created a family tree of the virus and examined its genetic characteristics to determine how it has evolved.The study found that tourists are more likely to contract HIV in Greece, Portugal, Serbia and Spain, which are popular vacation destinations. Meanwhile, HIV-positive people in Austria, Belgium, Denmark and Luxembourg are more likely to have contracted the virus outside of these countries. The study also found that HIV-positive people in Israel, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom contract the virus both within these countries and in other countries. In addition, the study found that in Poland the virus spread mainly among residents through injection drug use. "Viruses move around with travelers -- thus health programs within countries should not only target the national populations, prevention efforts must also be aimed at migrants, travelers and tourists -- who are both major s and targets of HIV," Paraskevis said (BBC News, 5/20). Lisa Power, head of policy at the Terrence Higgins Trust, said that the findings are not a "surprise," adding, "We"ve known for some time with high levels of mobility in the world these days that it"s very easy for viruses to move around. What it tells us is that you can"t limit HIV prevention and support just to permanent residents" (PA/Google.com, 5/20).
Public Health

Budget: Government Priority On Health Supported, New Zealand Medical Association

The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) welcomed today"s Budget which reaffirms the Government"s commitment to solving our long term health workforce problems. "This is a positive budget for health. The Minister has been well informed, and in these difficult financial times should be complemented for securing such a commitment to initiatives that will improve the viability and quality of our health system. While much of this is funding needed to keep pace with rising costs, there is some real new money," said NZMA Chairman Dr Peter Foley. "The NZMA is pleased with confirmed funding for new medical training places, extra places for general practitioner training, the previously announced voluntary bonding scheme, and the sourcing and training of 800 additional health professionals over the next four years, " said Dr Peter Foley. "The health workforce is facing huge problems, particularly in recruiting and retaining staff. New Zealand needs to be self-sufficient in its employment of health professionals. This funding goes some way towards finally addressing the shortages of our health workforce." "We are also supportive, after many years of advocating for such a scheme, to see that $15.3 million has been committed over two years, starting in 2011/12, into voluntary bonding for hard to staff health professions and locations. This is a crucial policy to help alleviate the health workforce crisis." Dr Foley said the NZMA was especially pleased to see, as promised by the Government, that DHBs would receive extra funding to devolve some hospital services to primary care. "This new funding must act as a reminder for DHBs that the Primary Health Care Strategy was launched in 2001, and that they must be looking outside their hospital walls for more of the solutions that can effectively deliver more cost-effective services to the community". "The NZMA looks forward to working with the Government to make further progress on these initiatives." The NZMA has previously welcomed the funding to boost maternity services but Dr Foley said that until maternity services are reintegrated into the rest of the primary care framework, new funding measures such as obstetric training for GPs were unlikely to entice GPs back into delivering maternity care. "Maternity services are disconnected from primary care. Medical and midwifery services need to be coordinated so that women have both real choice and the best quality care." The NZMA is also supportive of the initiatives that will improve the home environment of so many, the needed increase in funding for aged care, and for palliative care. New Zealand Medical Association


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