Home > News

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

China IDs 3rd Generation of Victims in New SARS Outbreak

China has identified a new wave of cases in its current SARS outbreak that represent the third generation of incidents since a lab worker became infected last month, The New York Times reported Monday.

The latest outbreak is thought to have begun when a 26-year-old medical student, identified only by the last name Song, became infected while working in the country's main SARS lab in Beijing. She has recovered, but her mother -- representing part of the 2nd generation of infections -- has since died.

A third generation had occurred before the outbreak was even identified, the newspaper reported. Two confirmed cases of SARS and six more suspected ones announced by the Beijing government over the past week are all apparently linked to the lab worker's original infection. Nearly 500 people who may have come in contact with the latest victims are being quarantined in Beijing and in the province of Anhui, the Associated Press reported.

Despite the speed at which the contagious virus appeared to be spreading, a spokesman for the World Health Organization (WHO) characterized the threat to public health as "small and limited," the Times reported. The spokesman said the WHO is investigating how the original lab worker became infected, noting that clearly there were "some sort of errors" in laboratory security, the AP reported.

China's leaders are said to be worried over the outbreak widening during the upcoming May Day vacation weekend, when huge amounts of urban travelers typically take a holiday in the suburbs, the wire service said. The virus forced officials to cancel many May Day activities in 2003.

-----

Study: Cold Virus Appears to Survive for Months

A type of cold virus typically harbored by very young children may survive in the body for months, according to European scientists cited by BBC News Online.

Until now, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) -- which affects most children during the first year of life -- was thought to survive only for a few days. But researchers at Imperial College London and the Ruhr-Universitat Bochum in Germany said their findings could explain why some children experience relapses that occur months apart. It could also explain why this form of cold virus is so common among the very young.

For some children, RSV infection can mean inflammation of the bronchial tract, wheezing, and a higher risk of developing asthma, the BBC reported. To see how long the virus could survive, the scientists infected mice with a human strain of RSV. Long after symptoms had cleared, sophisticated testing revealed that some of the virus's genetic material was still present in lung tissue more than 100 days later.

The scientists, reporting their findings in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, say it appears that RSV is a "hit and hide" virus that appears to wait for the chance to re-emerge and begin infecting other people, according to the BBC report.

-----

National Zoo Closes Gorilla Exhibit After TB Scare

The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., closed its Great Ape house to the public temporarily after tests on one of the gorillas indicated a possible tuberculosis infection, the Washington Post reported.

While the animal in question showed no signs of illness or infection, material taken from its lungs during a routine exam revealed "a few bacteria suggestive of TB," according to a zoo spokeswoman. She went on to characterize the test as "inconclusive."

The animal, identified as a 4-year-old gorilla named Kwame, is part of a colony of four western lowland apes that is popular with visitors, the newspaper reported. The ape was being given antibiotics as a precaution, and the gorilla facilities might be closed for several weeks, until more definitive test results become available, the Post added.

So far, other gorillas and animals have tested negative, according to the report. TB is highly contagious, and is spread through tiny droplets when a person or animal coughs.

-----

Rejection of Transplanted Lungs Reduced by Inhaling Procedure

A method to reduce rejection in lung transplants has been developed by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

The Associated Press reports that the procedure involves patients using a nebulizer -- an inhaling device often used by people with asthma -- to inhale an anti-rejection drug deep into their new lungs.

The study was presented Saturday by Dr. Dr. Aldo Iacono, lung transplant chief at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, to a meeting of the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.

The study was sponsored by the U.S. government's National Institutes of Health and used the drug cyclosporine, supplied by the pharmaceutical firm Novartis, the AP reports. Because lung transplantation is a risky procedure, survival rates haven't significantly improved in the past decade.

But the wire service says that Iacono's team reported significant success when cyclosporine was inhaled directly into the transplanted lungs.

Fifty-six new lung recipients were divided into two groups. In addition to standard anti-rejection treatment, half were also given the inhalable cyclosporine. The other half took a dummy nebulizer, which would be taken three days a week for two years after their transplant.

After a two-to-five year period, 11 percent who inhaled cyclosporine had died, more than 25 percent less than the 47 percent who died while using the placebo.

-----

Mexican Candies' Lead Content Often At Dangerous Levels

A two-year investigation by a southern California newspaper concludes that more than 110 brands of Mexican candy distributed in the greater Los Angeles area have dangerous levels of lead.

What's more, the Orange Country Register reports, neither California nor federal authorities have made the public aware of the potential danger to children, even though some of the lead levels exceed the state's maximum content allowance.

Here are some of the newspaper's findings, as written in the first part of its investigative series:

• The Register tested 180 candy and wrapper samples -- most from Mexico -- and found high lead in 32 percent of the brands, including some brands regulators haven't bothered to test. Candies were counted as high if they met or exceeded the state's level of concern for lead. Montes Tomy, Limon 7, and Pico Diana -- have had repeated high lead tests but have not faced federal or state sanctions. One candy, Lucas Limon, tested high seven times out of seven tests in federal labs, but neither the state nor FDA acted.
• In all, 112 brands of candy -- most coming from Mexico -- registered dangerously levels of lead over the past decade. In 101 cases, no action was taken against the candy makers. The results were kept confidential, and the candy remained on store shelves.
• The state makes no effort to notify candy companies in Mexico when their brands test high enough to harm a child. Candy maker after candy maker said they had no idea their product had high lead content.

Here's is the Web link to the newspaper's report.

Copyright © 2004 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.