Tag Archives: centers

More than 1.5 million cancer deaths averted during 2 decades of dropping mortality — ScienceDaily

Each year, the American Cancer Society compiles the most recent data on cancer incidence, mortality, and survival based on incidence data from the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics. The data are disseminated in two reports: Cancer Statistics 2015, published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, and its companion, consumer-friendly publication, Cancer Facts & Figures 2015. The reports also estimate the number of new cancer cases and deaths expected in the United States in the current year. …

Young Puerto Rican women and their mothers know little about HPV, cervical cancer

According to the study published in Preventing Chronic Disease, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HPV vaccination rates are low among Puerto Rican women. Fifty one percent of Puerto Rican girls aged 11 to 18 have started the 3-step vaccination process and only 21 percent have completed the series. “Our study is the first to provide insight into common psychosocial barriers affecting HPV vaccination in Puerto Rico,” said Mar�a E…

Cancer patients at increased risk for severe flu complications

"The flu shot is recommended annually for cancer patients, as it is the most effective way to prevent influenza and its complications," said Mollie deShazo, M.D., associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology and medical director of UAB Inpatient Oncology. "The flu vaccine significantly lowers the risk of acquiring the flu; it is not 100 percent effective, but it is the best tool we have." Flu activity in the United States is low, even after increasing slightly in recent weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, more activity is expected, and people who have not had a flu vaccine this year are advised to do so. "It takes up to two weeks to build immunity after a flu shot, but you can benefit even if you get the vaccine after the flu has arrived in your community," deShazo said…

US adult smoking rate dips to 18 percent

Fewer U.S. adults are smoking, a new government report says. Last year, about 18 percent of adults participating in a national health survey described themselves as current smokers. The nation's smoking rate generally has been falling for decades, but had seemed to stall at around 20 to 21 percent for about seven years. In 2011, the rate fell to 19 percent, but that might have been a statistical blip. Health officials are analyzing the 2012 findings and have not yet concluded why the rate dropped, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The CDC released its study Tuesday. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States. It's responsible for the majority of lung cancer deaths and is a deadly factor in heart attacks and a variety of other illnesses. Concerned about the stalled smoking rate, the CDC launched a graphic advertising campaign last year that was the agency's largest and starkest anti-smoking push. The campaign triggered an increase of 200,000 calls to quit lines, and CDC officials said thousands of smokers probably went on to kick the habit. The CDC did a second wave of the ads earlier this year. The new report is from a survey of about 35,000 U.S. adults. Current smokers were identified as those who said they had smoked more than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and now smoke every day or some days. The rate was only 9 percent for people ages 65 and older, but about 20 percent for younger adults. More men than women described themselves as current smokers. The report did not include teens. About 16 percent of high school students were smokers in 2011, according to an earlier CDC report. Patrick Reynolds, executive director of the Foundation for a SmokeFree America, told The Associated Press that he was elated that the adult smoking rate, for years at about 20 percent, had dropped below that longstanding plateau. He said factors he thinks have contributed to fewer adults smoking include rising state and federal tobacco taxes, more spending on prevention and cessation programs, and more laws banning smoking in public. “This is a real decline in smoking in America. I'm ecstatic about it. It's proof that we are winning the battle against tobacco,” he said by telephone from Los Angeles.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/18/us-adult-smoking-rate-dips-to-18-percent/

Disinfecting robot zaps superbugs

A new breakthrough in superbug fighting technology is changing the way patients view hospitals—and it goes by the name TRU-D. The Total Room Ultraviolet Disinfector uses a modified germicidal light to zap bacteria and viruses, and with just one use, it has 99.9 percent disinfection of bacteria and spores, such as influenza and norovirus. “It stops the bacterial organisms from reproducing, and any organism that can't reproduce can't colonize on a patients’ body,” said Michael Hossary, director of environmental services at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J. The TRU-D robot is used in patient isolation areas like the operating room and intensive care unit. After being placed in the room, all drawers are opened, all doors are closed and safety signs are put outside the room to ensure no one enters. The robot is then activated remotely. TRU-D’s Sensor360 technology automatically calculates the UV dose required to disinfect a room. It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 2.5 hours and can destroy deadly superbugs like C. difficile and MRSA. According to the Centers for Disease Control, C. difficile is linked to 14,000 American deaths each year. TRU-D is only used after traditional hospital cleaning methods are used. “Traditional cleanup methods for isolation patients usually include use of germicidal chemicals on all high touch point surfaces, replacement of the curtains, washing of the walls to ensure patient safety and reduce infection rates,” Hossary said. Over 100 devices are now being used in hospitals across the U.S. and Canada, and Hossary said it’s just one more step to keep patients healthy – especially since most people who visit the hospital are already apprehensive. “It's not easy knowing that you have to go to the hospital,” Hossary said. “Whether it’s for elective surgery or some unexpected event that happens in your life where you have to end up in the ER. So the uncertainty is definitely there, and we want to give patients a piece of mind for that.”source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/05/disinfecting-robot-zaps-superbugs/

Mystery illnesses in Alabama mostly colds and flu, tests show

Officials investigating a cluster of mysterious illnesses in Alabama have so far found only cold and flu viruses. In tests on seven of the nine patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no sign that the illnesses were caused by any single germ, CDC spokeswoman Sharon Hoskins said in an email. Meanwhile, Alabama officials said they had added two more cases to the cluster, which included two earlier deaths. Seven of the cases were reported last week, including the deaths. The two new illnesses were reported this week. Most of the nine were treated at Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan, but one was seen at a hospital in Crenshaw County. Health officials have described the patients as ranging in age from 20 to more than 80. The nine people suffered a flu-like illness with symptoms like fever, cough and shortness of breath. Mysterious illnesses are always unnerving, but the cluster report came at a particularly sensitive time. Health officials have been monitoring two deadly new illnesses that recently surfaced in different parts of the world — one a deadly form of bird flu that has appeared in China, the other a SARS-like coronavirus that seems to have originated in the Middle East. The bird flu has caused 131 illnesses and 32 deaths since the beginning of the year, according to the World Health Organization. The SARS-like virus (called MERS) has been identified as the cause of 44 illnesses, including 22 deaths, the WHO said. Neither seems to be highly contagious so far, and neither illness has been reported in the United States. But in a world of daily international air travel, it's always possible that a concerning new germ will hitchhike on an infected globetrotter and enter this country. The CDC tested the Alabama patients for MERS, for different forms of flu and for more than a dozen other illnesses, the agency spokeswoman said.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/23/mystery-illness-in-alabama-mostly-colds-and-flu-tests-show/

Mysterious respiratory illness kills 2, leaves 5 others hospitalized in Alabama

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – & A mysterious respiratory illness has left five people hospitalized and two dead in southeast Alabama, state health officials said Tuesday. Seven people have been admitted to hospitals with a fever, cough and shortness of breath in recent weeks, Alabama Department of Public Health spokeswoman Mary McIntyre said in a statement. Two of the seven have died. The Alabama Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control Respiratory Laboratory are analyzing lab tests from all seven patients. McIntyre says officials hope to have preliminary results on the samples back by Wednesday or Thursday morning. The illness was first reported late last week and the last of the seven patients was hospitalized Monday, McIntyre said. It wasn't immediately clear which municipalities the illnesses were concentrated in. “We're only aware of the Southeast, but we don't know -- we haven't received reports from anywhere else,” McIntyre said. “That's why we're trying to get the information out.” McIntyre said it's unclear what's causing the illness but some of the seven patients also had the flu. Authorities are urging hospital staff to wear masks when caring for patients who appear to be suffering from respiratory illnesses. The Centers for Disease Control referred all questions to Alabama health officials.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/22/mysterious-illness-kills-2-in-southeast-alabama/

Deaths from West Nile virus hit record last year

U.S. health officials say last year was the worst ever for West Nile virus deaths. The final tally reported Monday was 286 deaths - or two more than the record set in 2002. But there were far fewer illnesses overall, and fewer serious cases than in previous years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had predicted it would be a bad year because of weather conditions that promote breeding of the mosquitoes that spread the virus to people. The CDC report Monday showed Texas had nearly a third of the serious cases, and about a third of the deaths. West Nile virus was first diagnosed in Uganda in 1937, but no cases were reported in the U.S. until 1999 in New York. It gradually spread to the West Coast.source : http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/05/14/deaths-from-west-nile-virus-hit-record-last-year/