Prevention Matters

A new study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle showing that postmenopausal women who take fish oil supplements may reduce their breast cancer risk was named the “Best Prevention Idea of the Week,” while the recent news from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that about 40 million doses of swine flu vaccine worth about $260 million will be destroyed because it's past the expiration date was named the “Worst Prevention Idea of the Week."

The “Best/Worst” awards are announced each week in “Prevention Matters,” the blog of Partnership for Prevention. Nominees are submitted by Partnership staff as well as the general public, and are voted on by the staff. Partnership for Prevention is a nonpartisan organization of business, nonprofit and government leaders who are working to make evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion a national priority. More information is available at http://www.prevent.org/.

BEST

Study Finds Fish Oil Supplements Linked to Lower Risk of Breast Cancer

Postmenopausal women who take fish oil supplements may reduce their breast cancer risk, a new study suggests.

The study focused on the potential health benefits of 15 different so-called "specialty" supplements to see if they affect breast cancer risk, said study senior author Emily White, an epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

Fish oil supplements, made from fatty fish such as salmon, contain high levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

In the study, White and her colleagues asked more than 35,000 Washington state women who were between the ages of 50 and 76 and all past menopause to answer questions about their use of "non-vitamin, non-mineral supplements." All were participants in the Vitamins and Lifestyle (VITAL) cohort study, and none had a history of breast cancer.

After six years of follow up, 880 cases of breast cancer were identified.

WORST

40 Million Expired Swine Flu Vaccine Doses to Be Destroyed


About 40 million doses of swine flu vaccine worth about $260 million will be destroyed because it's past the expiration date, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The amount of the outdated vaccine, which will be incinerated, is more than twice the usual surplus and likely sets a record, according to the Associated Press.

One government estimate suggests that about 30 million more swine flu vaccine doses could expire and have to be destroyed. If that's the case, it means that more than 43 percent of the total supply of swine flu vaccine for the U.S. public will have gone to waste, the AP reported.

PBS is airing a special entitled the “Anatomy of a Pandemic” which will explore the science and policy of this year’s swine flu pandemic, from federal vaccination headquarters to big city hospital emergency rooms. Please visit the web site at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/pandemic/ for more information and local listings.

Among those listed who will be interviewed include:
Anthony Fauci

The CDC has received reports of email phishing scams referencing state sponsored vaccination programs, but the agency says no such program has been implemented requiring registration on CDC.gov. The email tells users they must create a personal H1N1 (swine flu) vaccination profile on the CDC.gov website. The message then says anyone age 18 or older must have his/her personal vaccination profile on CDC.gov. Users that click on the email risk having malicious code installed on their computer.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says her department will review its approach to disaster preparedness in the wake of difficulties it has faced in producing vaccine to protect the public against the swine flu epidemic. She says the goal will be streamlined regulations that will speed the approval of new technologies that are promoted through government contracts with private companies.

http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news10832.html


WORST

Dirty Restrooms on Cruise Ships "Widespread," Linked to Norovirus Outbreaks
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruises/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=620000957.blog

By voice vote, the U.S. Senate Thursday night confirmed Dr. Regina Benjamin to serve as Surgeon General. Benjamin, 53, was the first black woman to head a state medical society, received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights and just last fall received a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant." In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, she rebuilt her rural health clinic in Bayou La Batre, Ala., which serves 4,400 patients who would be hard-pressed to find care elsewhere.

Benjamin was nominated by President Barack Obama in July, but a month later Republicans put a hold on all health nominees because the administration had imposed a "gag rule" on companies offering Medicare Advantage to seniors. Those companies were sending out information to customers telling them that a Democratic healthcare reform proposal would cut benefits. The Department of Health and Human Services issued a memo in mid-October telling companies they can provide information about legislation that affects them if their customers agree to receive such information.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) blasted Republicans on Thursday for holding up the nomination of Benjamin and other nominees for reasons "completely unrelated to their qualification." In Benjamin's case, concern had been expressed about holding up the confirmation of one of the nation's leading spokespersons on public health when the H1N1 epidemic was spreading.

Could an Internet search engine be used to improve early detection of the flu epidemic? The folks at Google say the answer appears to be "yes." That's because there are more flu-related searches during flu season, more allergy-related searches during allergy season, and more sunburn-related searches during the summer. Below is an overlay of how past flu activity has tracked with Google's estimates based on flu-information seeking on the web:

The Internet can be a great source of information about the pandemic H1N1 flu, but it's also the mother lode of swine flu scams, the FDA is warning.In a news release, the agency said it recently purchased and analyzed several products that purported to be oseltamivir (Tamiflu), one of two antiviral drugs thought to be effective against the pandemic flu.

"One of the orders, which arrived in an unmarked envelope with a postmark from India, consisted of unlabeled, white tablets taped between two pieces of paper," the agency said. Analysis showed the tablets contained talc and acetaminophen, but no oseltamivir, the FDA said. The Web site disappeared shortly after the order was placed. The agency said it bought four similarly advertised products from other Web sites. These did contain some oseltamivir, but were not approved for use in the U.S. Several Web merchants did not require a prescription, and none of the drugs arrived quickly enough to treat someone infected with the pandemic flu or with an immediate exposure to the virus.

A Virginia program offering “Drive-through” flu shots were named Partnership for Prevention's "Best Prevention Idea of the Week," while the spread of fake malaria drugs was named “Worst Prevention Idea of the Week.”

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/virginia/300_Get_Drive_Through_Flu_Shots_092609

Wondering if swine flu's bad enough to require a doctor's attention? An interactive Web site may help you decide, using the same type of triage calculations that doctors at Emory University use. Microsoft Corp. unveiled the site Wednesday at http://www.h1n1responsecenter.com . Type in your age - it's only for people over 12 - and answer questions about fever, other symptoms and your underlying health. Microsoft licensed the self-assessment tool from Emory, which based it on what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined are key risks factors for a bad flu outcome. A large insurer tested the tool against more than 2,500 records of patient visits for flulike symptoms in Colorado, and only two people deemed low-risk were hospitalized within the following two weeks.

The Washington Post's Rob Stein writes: "Doctors, nurses and other health-care workers in Indiana and Tennessee will receive the first doses of swine flu vaccine Monday as the federal government launches the most ambitious vaccination campaign in U.S. history."

The campaign's goal is to inoculate at least half the U.S. population against the new H1N1 virus. The federal government has spent $2 billion to purchase about 250 million doses of vaccine and has pledged to buy enough to immunize every American if there is enough demand. But public opinion surveys indicate that Americans are undecided about the vaccine.

 

Dr. John Clarke of Baldwin, New York, rapped his way to victory in the Department of Health and Human Service's flu prevention PSA contest. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that Clarke's "H1N1 Rap" was named the winner after a tally of more than 50,000 v0tes from more than 200 entries from across the country.

Americans were called to create a 15, 30, or 60 second video promoting good hygienic practices and submit this video over YouTube. This video was to inform people about the flu and motivate them to take steps that help prevent the spread of the flu. The winner received $2500 in cash and will be featured on national television.

A panel of 12 video communication and public health experts determined the top 10 entries. These were put on the HHS YouTube Channel and put to a public vote. Over 50 thousand votes were cast in the 18 days that voting was open, and these votes determined the overall winner.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a three-month text messaging campaign pilot to share important, timely health information on the H1N1 virus directly to users.
To subscribe to the pilot, text HEALTH to 87000. Once you sign up for this pilot, you will be asked a few questions and begin receiving short health tips from CDC. Subscribers can expect to receive about three health messages a week during the three-month pilot. Standard text messaging rates will apply. You can opt out at any time by simply replying HEALTH QUIT.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is offering companies new guidelines for coping with the H1N1 swine flu pandemic amid concerns that employers could face crippling absenteeism as the U.S. flu season takes hold. The 16-page guide, entitled "It's Not Flu as Usual: An H1N1 Business Preparedness Guide," offers scenarios in which more than 10 percent of staff are too sick to come to work on any given day over the course of several months to a year.

A new survey shows that most U.S. businesses are concerned that swine flu will have a negative effect on business if cases are widespread and severe this fall and winter. Most companies said they could handle some swine flu absenteeism, but not without major problems if a lot of workers were affected.

For instance, 73% of participants said their company could avoid severe operational problems if 20% of their workers were absent for two weeks. But if a third of their employees were out for that long, only 44% of companies said they could handle that without having severe operational problems, and only 33% were as confident about their ability to cope if half of their workers were out for two weeks.

Any school-age child in New York City can get a free swine flu vaccination under Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to contain the deadly virus this fall and winter.

Bloomberg and other city officials were set to announce the multi-pronged strategy later Tuesday to fight a second, more serious wave of the virus that sickened hundreds of thousands, many in schools.

Other elements of the city's plan include tracking influenza at emergency rooms and posting that and other data on a new flu Web site. The city will also produce a daily report on public school absenteeism and schools reporting five or more cases of flu-like illness.

Vaccinations will be the main defense against the swine flu epidemic in the US, says HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

"I think it's important that people begin to anticipate that we will have a vaccine," Sebeilus said in a "TODAY Show" interview. "We think it's likely that we're going to need two shots for the vaccine."

She said people should plan ahead for this, particularly those with pre-existing medical conditions, pregnant women and health care industry workers. Sebelius said federal health authorities also are recommending that people should immediately get their regular "seasonal" flu vaccine to bolster their health for the scenario yet to play out later this year regarding the swine flu virus.

"What we learned last spring is that shutting a school down sort of pre-emptively doesn't stop the virus from spreading," Sebelius added.

A USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Census data from 2005 to 2007 suggests that an American school nurse cares, on average, for 971 students. In 13 states, the ratio is more than 2,000 to 1. That falls short of federally recommended standards. It also could leave some schools ill-equipped to deal with the swine flu epidemic when their doors open this fall.