Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

Investigation Urgently Needed Into Treatment Of Mentally Ill Immigration Detainees At California Facility, Editorial States
"Although the number of mentally ill immigration detainees" at the La Mesa, Calif.-based private psychiatric hospital Alvarado Parkway Institute "at any one time seems to range from as few as two to only five or so, their situation needs to be addressed quickly," a San Diego Tribune editorial states (San Diego Tribune, 5/19). Some disability rights lawyers and advocates for the mentally ill say that conditions at many of the private facilities, including API, violate state and federal laws governing treatment of mentally ill people. Ann Menasche, a lawyer with the legal advocacy group Disability Rights California, last month sent a letter to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement claiming that after visiting API and interviewing detainees, she found that the conditions are "excessive, unjustifiable and punitive" (Kaiser Health Disparities Report, 5/18).According to the Tribune, "California"s strict patients" rights laws specify that psychiatric patients can have daily visitors, use the telephone, exercise, socialize and be free from restraint unless the chief of the facility determines that a specific individual is a threat to himself or others," but, according to Menasche, patients at API are being denied those rights. The editorial adds that the conditions Menasche describes "may sound appalling, but it is unclear whether they are proper for the circumstances," and an "independent probe by the state Department of Public Health ... is needed to determine whether the detainees are being treated properly" (San Diego Tribune, 5/19).

Sacramento, Calif., Latest Site For State HIV/AIDS Budget Proposal Protests
The Los Angeles Times examined the effects of the proposed $80.1 million in budget cuts to HIV/AIDS programs in the state, as advocates are expected today to convene at the California State Capitol in Sacramento to protest the cuts. According to the Times, the proposed cuts would mean that the costs of running many HIV/AIDS-related programs would be shifted to local jurisdictions study, which "would become increasingly difficult for cash-strapped counties." HIV/AIDS programs would also need to rely more heavily on available federal financing. HIV education, prevention, counseling and testing services and early intervention programs would be affected, the Times reports. The state"s AIDS Drug Assistance Program would stand to lose $12 million (Yoshino, Los Angeles Times, 6/9). In related news, the Santa Cruz News examined how the proposed state budget cuts could put the Santa Cruz AIDS Project"s centers and programs, including sex education in schools and a needle exchange program "in serious jeopardy" (Lussenhop, Santa Cruz News, 6/9).
News of the day
10,000 Australians Demand Bowel Cancer Screening - New Research Shows Nine In Ten Can Survive Bowel Cancer If Found Early
A community-based Cancer Council advocacy campaign has motivated 10,000 Australians to call for expansion of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, amid new research showing 93 per cent of bowel cancer patients can survive if diagnosed early.
Sexual Health

WHO Says New H1N1 Virus Did Not Come From A Lab

The World Health Organization (WHO) have refuted the suggestion made by Australian virologist Adrian Gibbs that the new A/H1N1 influenza virus that has infected over 6,000 people around the world was accidentally made in a lab and said that the evidence shows it is a naturally occurring virus. Gibbs" hypothesis grabbed the world headlines this week after he submitted a paper to the WHO detailing his analysis of publicly available gene sequencing information about the virus. Gibbs, 75-year old retired virologist with 40 years experience, worked in the early development of antivirals, and is described by the WHO as a "credible scientist". WHO"s Assistant Director-General ad Interim for Health Security and Environment Dr Keiji Fukuda said in an update press briefing yesterday, Thursday, that they were contacted at the weekend by a scientist who had analysed the gene sequences from the new A/H1N1 virus and had proposed that the versions that were circulating were from a lab derived strain. While not referring to the scientist by name, he stressed that this was not a scientist who was working with the influenza viruses but someone who was able to go to the WHO databases and see the gene sequences for himself and do his own analysis. "Because of the credible nature of the hypothesis, and because of the credible nature of the scientist, we took this very seriously," said Fukuda. WHO contacted their collaborating centres located in 5 cities around the world and asked their scientists to look at the paper. And because the virus is swine related, they also contacted experts from the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health). There ensued a large discussion between the human flu virologists and the animal flu virologists, said Fukuda but the hypothesis that the scientist had proposed did not "stand up to scrutiny", adding that "the evidence suggests this is a naturally occurring virus and not a laboratory derived virus". Fukuda said he was bringing this up in the update briefing because this is a good example of what happens when you make information publicy available. A scientist who is not involved in the current investigation is able to look at the information from an independent perspective, and this then causes the scientists who are involved to re-examine the same data, he explained. Fukuda said it was a "nice example" of how science should happen, especially with such a critical public health issue, implying that by making the scientific information public, any credible scientist with a credible argument can bring fresh insights to the table, and hopefully this way the good ideas that might potentially be overlooked in a "closed" information process don"t get missed. Fukuda said "hopefully we will see this process applied over and over again in additional investigations in additional outbreaks as they come up". Returning to the subject of the daily briefing, Fukuda said the WHO pandemic alert was still at phase 5, and that outside of North America, confirmed cases continue to be linked to travellers as opposed to transmission from within the community. It is generally assumed that the WHO may move to Phase 6 (full blown global pandemic is under way) if these other countries start showing community level outbreaks not related to travellers. WHO"s latest figures show that as of 06:00 GMT on 14 May, 33 countries have officially reported 6,497 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, with the vast majority in the US (3,352) and Mexico (2,446). The confirmed cases include 67 deaths, 60 in Mexico, 3 in the US, 1 in Canada (where they have reported 389 lab confirmed cases) and 1 in Costa Rica (where they have reported 8 lab confirmed cases). There have been no cases reported from Africa, and apart from Israel, where there have been 7 confirmed cases, none from the Middle East either. WHO. *See our Map Of H1N1 Outbreaks. *See our Mexico Swine Flu Blog. Written by: Catharine Paddock, PhD Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009