# DOE -- Medical and Infectious Disease Update -- Wednesday, March 31, 2004

DOE weekly updates on Bird Flu, Human Influenza, West Nile Virus, or
other illnesses and medical issues will continue as appropriate or as
requested. The following information is current as of Thursday, April 1,
2004, 0700 hours, EST. Information presented is routinely taken from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), <http://www.cdc.gov/>,
The World Health Organization (WHO), <http://www.who.int/en/>, the
Department of Defense Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and
Response System site, (DoD-GEIS) - <http://www.geis.ha.osd.mil/>, and
other creditable sources.

**Recent News**

**[ALLERGY]{.underline}**-**[The Accuweather
page](http://wwwa.accuweather.com/adcbin/public/maps_index.asp?type=airq)**
provides current air quality information with specific charts for
[**Grass
Pollen**](http://wwwa.accuweather.com/adcbin/public/maps_index.asp?type=grass),
[**Overall
Pollen**](http://wwwa.accuweather.com/adcbin/public/maps_index.asp?type=overall),
[**Ragweed
Pollen**](http://wwwa.accuweather.com/adcbin/public/maps_index.asp?type=ragweed),
and [**Tree
Pollen**](http://wwwa.accuweather.com/adcbin/public/maps_index.asp?type=tree)
\...
<http://wwwa.accuweather.com/adcbin/public/maps_index.asp?type=airq>**.**

**The Limits of Medicine** - 31March2004, *By Phillip Longman*, The
Washington Post \-- Faith in medicine runs deep in America. We spend
more per person on health care than any other nation. Most of us are
confident that we will live longer, more active lives than our parents.
Whether we eat too much or exercise too little, whether we\'re turning
gray or feeling blue, we increasingly look to some pill or procedure to
make us better. No one likes to hear official projections such as those
that came out last week about Medicare, which show that the program will
be running multitrillion-dollar annual deficits just when baby boomers
need it. But a common response is: What\'s a more important priority for
society\'s resources? \... Today the United States spends more than
\$4,500 per person per year on health care. Costa Rica spends less than
\$300, and has half as many doctors per capita. Yet life expectancy at
birth is nearly identical in both countries \...
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37701-2004Mar30.html>.

**Researchers Show Chronic Sinusitis Is Immune Disorder; Antifungal
Medicine Effective Treatment** -- 30March2004, Science*Daily*
\--BUFFALO, N.Y. \-- Researchers at the University at Buffalo and the
Mayo Clinic have shown that chronic sinusitis is an immune disorder
caused by fungus, opening up a promising new avenue for treating this
ubiquitous and debilitating condition, for which there is no
FDA-approved therapy. Results of their research suggest that common
airborne fungi lodge in the mucus lining of the sinuses in most people,
but initiate an immune response only in individuals prone to chronic
sinusitis. The immune response causes the fungi to be attacked, which
leads to damage of the sinus membranes, resulting in full-blown symptoms
\... <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/03/040324072619.htm>.

**Tougher Bugs, Few New Drugs:** **Dearth of New Antibiotics Threatens
Public Health** - 30March2004, *By Roxanne Nelson*, Special to The
Washington Post \--It was 1969 and the battle against germs, it seemed,
had been all but won. An impressive array of vaccines and antibiotics
were rapidly turning deadly diseases such as smallpox, rheumatic fever,
diphtheria and polio into distant memories. The growing armamentarium of
powerful drugs appeared capable of besting any bacterial infection that
dared cross its path. That year, then-Surgeon General William H. Stewart
confidently testified before Congress that \"it was time to close the
book on infectious disease\" \... Unfortunately, his pronouncement
proved a bit premature \... Some 30-odd new diseases have emerged over
the past 20 years \-- including AIDS, SARS and Ebola. And old scourges
once thought to be under control, such as tuberculosis, syphilis and
gonorrhea, are reemerging with a vengeance \... Meanwhile, the
once-robust pipeline of new antibiotics is running dry. Some large
pharmaceutical companies are either sharply curtailing their
antibacterial research and development programs or pulling out of the
market altogether **\...**
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34467-2004Mar29.html>.

**Vitamin E May Curb Cancer Risk** -- 28March2004, Associated Press,
ORLANDO \-- Getting plenty of vitamin E by eating such foods as nuts and
olive oil appears to cut in half people\'s risk of bladder cancer, the
fourth leading cancer killer among men, a study says \... Whether
vitamin E does anything to stop cancer is far from proven, but some
think the vitamin may be helpful, perhaps by warding off the damaging
effects of oxygen \...
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31771-2004Mar28.html>.

## Early Vitamin E Supplements Stem Development Of Hallmark Alzheimer\'s Symptoms In Mice -- 26March2004, Science*Daily* \--(Philadelphia, PA) - Vitamin E, a well-known antioxidant, has been used to treat Alzheimer's disease, but with mixed results, especially in patients with advanced symptoms. A risk factor for Alzheimer's is oxidative stress, a clinical condition characterized by an excessive production of reactive chemicals in the brain, which can damage important regions of this organ \... They found that vitamin E given to young transgenic mice before the formation of telltale plaques reduces by up to half the levels of amyloid deposited in the brain over time compared to aged mice on the same regimen. This study appears in the February edition of The FASEB Journal \... [**http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/03/040326074557.htm**](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/03/040326074557.htm).

**Bird Flu 2003-2004: Doe Special Medical Update** -- With information
from WHO and the CDC, this update also explains the concepts of viral
infection, viral replication, antigenic "drift", and antigenic "shift"
...
<http://www.eh.doe.gov/health/news/BIRDFLU2003-2004_DOESPECIALUPDATE_B200402091.pdf>
(PDF) or for a choice of PDF or Word format,
<http://www.eh.doe.gov/health/index.html>**,** and scroll down under
\"News and Features\".

**WHO: Avian influenza-fact sheet** -- 5January2004-Avian influenza
("bird flu") and the significance of its transmission to humans ...
<http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_01_15/en/>.

**CDC [West Nile Virus
Home](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm)** -
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/index.htm>

**Links to State and Local Government West Nile Virus Web Sites**\
Click on a state to link directly to their West Nile virus Web page. See
the list below for additional city-level and main State Health
Department Web sites \...
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/city_states.htm>.

![](media/image1.png){width="4.853472222222222in"
height="3.0416666666666665in"}

**West Nile Virus Interactive Map** -- If you go to this map , each
State will be 'HOT', and clicking your mouse on a State will link you to
its Health Department's West Nile web site and bring up other
information. Whereas the CDC map and case summary is a lagging
indicator, this map, linked to each State's Health Department, provides
real-time information for those states which update regularly, such as
PA and CO \... <http://www.mosquitoczar.com/west_nile_virus>**.**

**CDC West Nile Virus Case Count -**
[Maps](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/surv&control03Maps.htm)
reporting WNV activity and [human disease
cases](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/surv&controlCaseCount03.htm)
reported to CDC were updated on March 26, 2004 and provide weekly
information thru March 24, 2004. See the chart below. Total cases and
deaths from 46 states stand at 9389 and 246, respectively. Since last
week, there has been one new case and no deaths \...
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/surv&controlCaseCount03.htm>.

![](media/image2.wmf){width="6.722222222222222in" height="4.5in"}

George R. Gebus, MD, MPH, Editor

US Department of Energy

Office of Occupational Health, EH-53/270CC

19901 Germantown Road

Germantown, MD 20874-1290

Phone: 301-903-2876

Fax: 301-903-5072

Email: <george.gebus@eh.doe.gov>

<http://www.eh.doe.gov/index.html>