28 September 2012

Army Public Health Weekly Update

The Army Public Health Update is a collection of articles taken verbatim

from public sources to offer awareness of current health issues and the

media coverage given to them. The articles do not necessarily represent

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Contents

U.S. MILITARY

 Army designs body armor for women and batteries

 Army seeks to curb rising tide of suicides

 Military leaders: We're still too fat to fight

 Pentagon behind on predicting chemical, biological threats

 Routine screening for antibodies to HIV-1, civilian applicants for U.S. military service and U.S. Armed Forces, 

active and reserve components

 Spinal injury incidence about 5 percent in Iraq/Afghanistan

GLOBAL

 First successful treatment for Progeria, rare childhood disease

 New SARS-like virus found, man critically ill in UK

 'Scar free healing' in mice may give clues to human skin repair, says study

INFLUENZA

 Canadian catches H1N1 variant after close contact with pigs

 CDC: Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report

 European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control: Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview

 Google.org: Flu Trends

 Naval Health Research Center: Febrile Respiratory Illness Surveillance Update

 U.S.: Influenza vaccination coverage among health-care personnel, 2011-12 flu season

VETERINARY/FOOD SAFETY

 U.S.: Salmonella sickens 30 in 19 states, peanut butter recalled

 U.S.: Tests show levels of arsenic in rice

WELLNESS

 A call for caution on antipsychotic drugs

 Eunuchs lived longer than other men: study

 For weight loss, less exercise may be more

 Screen all adults for alcohol misuse: task force

 Weight-loss benefits from cutting out sugary drinks short-lived
Afraid of the Flu 

Shot? Try a Smaller 

Needle

A new form of the annual 

flu shot has a significantly 

shorter needle. The new 

vaccine should make it 

easier for people with a 

fear of needles to get 

immunized, and in the 

event of a shortage, may 

even allow doctors to 

vaccinate more people.

While the typical flu 

vaccine uses a 1-in. to 1.5-

in. needle, the new Fluzone 

Intradermal influenza 

vaccine comes with an 

ultrafine needle that’s 90% 

smaller, at just 0.06 in. Both 

vaccines contain the same 

antigens, which help the 

immune system to protect 

against the three 

commonly circulating 

influenza strains this 

season. TIME

USAFRICOM

 Cameroon: Death toll rises in flooding, which has displaced thousands

 Guinea, Sierra Leone: Cholera outbreak easing

 Malaria drugs significantly prevent disease in Africa

 Niger: Child mortality slashed

 Nigeria: Traditional stoves detrimental to heath, environment

 Uganda: Condom use infrequent despite rising HIV rates

USCENTCOM

 Afghanistan: Several Afghan school girls poisoned in capital Kabul

 Jordan/Syria: As numbers swell, Syrian refugees face new woes

 Pakistan: A dismal place to be a kid, report finds

 Pakistan: Fear and suspicion in Pakistan hamper global polio fight

 Saudi Arabia adopts measures to limit virus infection during Haj

USEUCOM

 England: Faith leaders in 'HIV healing' claims

 Israel: Leishmaniasis, cutaneous, visceral

 United Kingdom: Cancer deaths expected to drop 17% by 2030

USNORTHCOM

 Canada bans key substance in 'bath salts' drug

 U.S.: Another 400 West Nile cases reported in past week - CDC

 U.S.: Hantavirus outbreak puzzles experts

 U.S.: Military leaders point to schools in U.S. fat fight

 U.S.: Suicide now kills more Americans than car crashes - study

 U.S.: Variation in antibiotic prescribing hints at overuse

 U.S.: Washington state’s first ‘zombie bees’ reported; parasite causes bees to fly erratically, die

USPACOM

 China: Foxconn plant closed after 2,000 riot

 India: Numerous encephalitis cases devastate north India

 Japan: Spike in heart failures follows 2011 quake

 Japan: Super typhoon Jelawat to threaten Okinawa then Japan

USSOUTHCOM

 Cuba: Cholera, diarrhea, and dysentery update

 El Salvador gets a cervical cancer screening test that women can administer at home

U.S. MILITARY

Army designs body armor for women and batteries

25 September - Army equipment officials have recognized after 

a decade at war that women are built differently than men –

especially when it comes to proper-fitting body armor. 

Speaking at the recent 2012 Maneuver Conference at Fort 
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Benning, Ga., equipment officials discussed how engineers are adapting body armor so it 

provides a more comfortable fit for female soldiers as well as housing advancements in 

soldier-power technology. Since the Army’s initial fielding of Interceptor body armor in the 

late 1990s, equipment officials have made multiple improvements to this life-saving vest. 

The latest version of the Improved Outer Tactical Vest includes removable armor protection 

for both sides of the torso and shoulders and more effective groin and pelvic protection. 

Despite all of these improvement efforts, female soldiers have always had to be satisfied 

with body armor that’s essentially designed to fit best on the male form. Army equipment 

officials are now working to change this with an effort designed to field female-specific 

body armor before the 2014 withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Military.com

Army seeks to curb rising tide of suicides

27 September - ... Soldiers are told to ask questions, listen and escort the friend to a 

chaplain or hospital if necessary. This is the kind of training soldiers around the world are 

receiving Thursday. The sessions are aimed at beating back some of the misconceptions 

about military suicide — like the idea that only those in combat are at risk. Worrell says 

those based stateside still face family pressures. And then there's the stress of not 

deploying. "Let's put it in terms of the Olympics: If you trained all your life and never got to 

compete, would that be much fun? Sometimes garrison is the same way. We train but never 

get to do our job," he says. The Army has been struggling to deal with the suicide problem 

since numbers began rising in 2004. This year, the average is nearly one soldier suicide a 

day. The worldwide stand down is meant to keep the force focused on the problem. The 

question is whether an effort aimed at more than a million active duty, National Guard and 

Reserve troops can have much of an effect. "I don't think it would be as effective as more 

individual strategies," says Dartmouth University professor Tracy Stecker, who has worked 

with the military on the suicide puzzle. Troops today, she says, are already familiar with the 

dangers of post-traumatic stress and the warning signs of suicide. "They call this kind of 

training 'death by PowerPoint,' " she says."What they might not be as informed about are 

some individual strategies that they can take to maybe cope better with the situation at 

hand." NPR

Military leaders: We're still too fat to fight

25 September - Childhood obesity isn't just a health issue, 

according to a group of retired military leaders. It's also a 

national security issue. One in four young adults are too 

overweight to join the U.S. military, a new report from the 

advocacy group Mission: Readiness says. And the U.S. 

Department of Defense spends an estimated $1 billion each year on medical care related to 

obesity issues for active duty members, their dependents and veterans. "No other major 

country's military forces face the challenges of weight gain confronting America's armed 

forces," according to the report. "At the end of the day, the reason America is safe and 

sound is not because of its tanks," adds retired Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, spokesman for 

Mission: Readiness. "It’s really the men and women who volunteer and so proudly serve." 

CNN
Pentagon behind on predicting chemical, biological 

threats

24 September - The Pentagon does not have a clear idea of how adversaries could misuse 

modern biotechnology and chemical advances, according to the Defense Department's 

chief chemical and biological defense official. It turns out the Pentagon can move people 

faster than the speed of sound but not necessarily faster than the speed of biotechnology 

developments. Gerald Parker, deputy assistant to the secretary of defense for chemical and 

biological defense, told the E-Ring in an interview in his fifth-floor Pentagon office that he is 

reexamining the department's sizable network of laboratories, Army commands, and DOD 

offices tasked with the work of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) 

protection... Parker manages the back-end of these defenses, the science, the labs, the 

development, and recently commissioned the National Research Council to help 

recommend where to start. The NRC provided him a tall list, including building a basic 

framework to evaluate their work and better collaboration across DOD agencies. Foreign 

Policy

Routine screening for antibodies to HIV-1, civilian 

applicants for U.S. military service and U.S. Armed 

Forces, active and reserve components

August 2012 - During routine testing of civilian applicants for U.S. military service, the 

overall seroprevalence of antibodies to HIV-1 in 2011 was the second lowest of any year 

since 1990. Among members of the active components of the U.S. Army, HIV-1 

seroprevalences were higher during 2008 to 2011 than in recent prior years. Among 

members of the active components of the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, the 

Marine Corps Reserve, and the Army National Guard, HIV-1 seroprevalences have slightly 

declined or remained relatively stable for at least ten years. In the reserve components of 

most service branches, it is difficult to discern long-term trends because of instability of 

seroprevalences in the relatively small numbers of reserve component members tested each 

year. Monitoring of HIV-1 seroprevalences can help target and focus prevention initiatives. 

The recent repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy has created opportunities for prevention

messages targeted to men who have sex with men. Medical Surveillance Monthly Report

Spinal injury incidence about 5 percent in 

Iraq/Afghanistan

24 September - The incidence of spinal trauma sustained by military personnel in Iraq and 

Afghanistan is about 5 percent, according to a study published in the Sept. 19 issue of The 

Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery. Using data from the Joint Theater Trauma Registry, James A. 

Blair, M.D., from the Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, and colleagues 

identified all American military personnel who sustained injuries to the back, spinal column, 

and/or spinal cord in Iraq or Afghanistan from October 2001 to December 2009. Of the 

10,979 combat injuries that were evacuated, the researchers found that 598 casualties (5.45 

percent) sustained 2,101 spinal injuries. Fifty-six percent of all spinal injuries were due to 
explosions, while motor vehicle collisions accounted for 29 percent, and gunshots for 15 

percent. HealthDay

top of page...

GLOBAL

First successful treatment for Progeria, rare childhood 

disease

26 September - Results of the first clinical drug trial for children with a rare rapid-aging 

disease, known as Progeria, has shown successfulness with a farnesyltransferase inhibitor 

(FTI), a drug first used to treat cancer. The clinical trial results showed significant 

improvements in bone structure, weight gain, and most importantly, the cardiovascular 

system, according to new research published in Proceedings of the Natural Academy of 

Sciences. Medical News Today

New SARS-like virus found, man critically ill in UK

24 September - A Qatari man struck down with a previously 

unknown virus related to the deadly SARS infection and the 

common cold is critically ill in hospital in Britain, the World 

Health Organisation said on Monday. The U.N. health body put 

out a global alert on Sunday saying a new virus had infected 

the 49-year-old man who had recently travelled to Saudi Arabia - where another man with 

an almost identical virus had already died. Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) and 

respiratory disease experts said there was no immediate cause for concern, although 

authorities were watching out for any signs of the virus spreading. "This new virus ... is 

different from any that have previously been identified in humans," the HPA said. Any 

suggestions of a link between the virus and Saudi Arabia will cause particular concern in the 

build-up to next month's Muslim haj pilgrimage, when millions of people arrive in the 

kingdom from across the world, then return to their homes. The virus, known as a 

coronavirus, comes from the same family as SARS which emerged in 2002 and killed 800 

people. Reuters

'Scar free healing' in mice may give clues to human skin 

repair, says study

26 September - Mice with brittle skin, which tears off in order to escape predators, may 

offer clues to healing wounds without scarring, according to US researchers. Some African 

spiny mice lost up to 60% of the skin from their backs, says the study published in the 

journal Nature. Unlike wounds in other mammals, the skin then rapidly healed and regrew 

hairs rather than forming a scar. Scientists want to figure out how the healing takes place 

and if it could apply to people. Salamanders, some of which can regrow entire limbs, are 
famed for their regenerative abilities. It has made them the focus of many researchers 

hoping to figure out how to produce the same effect in people. Mammals, however, have 

very limited ability to regrow lost organs. Normally a scar forms to seal the wound. 

Although many scientists are trying to speed up the healing process, our studies on spiny 

mice and salamanders show that slowing things down is the path towards regeneration.” 

"This study shows that mammals as a group may in fact have higher regenerative abilities 

then they are given credit for," said Dr Ashley Seifert from the University of Florida. BBC

top of page...

INFLUENZA

Canadian catches H1N1 variant after close contact with 

pigs

25 September - An Ontario man has been infected with an H1N1 variant influenza virus 

after having had close contact with pigs, the province's chief medical officer of health said 

on Tuesday. H1N1 is a swine flu virus responsible for a pandemic that broke out in 2009, 

starting in the United States and Mexico and spreading around the world in six weeks. An 

influenza virus that normally circulates in animals is referred to as a variant virus when it 

infects humans, and is labeled H1N1v in that case, the officer, Arlene King, said. "I would like 

to reassure Ontarians that this variant influenza virus rarely spreads from animals to 

humans. Subsequent human-to-human transmission is also rare," she said in a statement. "I 

would also like to stress that this is not a food safety issue; the consumption of properly 

cooked pork continues to be safe. Proper cooking of meats, including pork, kills all bacteria 

and viruses." The adult male patient is being treated and closely monitored in a hospital in 

southwestern Ontario. Reuters

CDC: Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report

During week 37 (week ending 15 September), 6.3% of all deaths reported through the 122-

Cities Mortality Reporting System were due to P&I. This percentage was below the epidemic 

threshold of 6.5% for week 37. FluView

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control:

Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview

During weeks 35-36 (27 August – 9 September 2012), influenza activity of low-intensity was 

notified by all 18 reporting countries. Weekly Influenza Surveillance Overview

Google.org: Flu Trends

27 September – Estimates of flu activity based on flu-related Internet search queries indicate 

that the level of flu activity in the U.S. ranges from low to moderate, with the majority of 

states indicating low activity. Google.org Flu Trends
Naval Health Research Center: Febrile Respiratory 

Illness Surveillance Update 

For the week ending 22 September 2012:

Adenovirus - Type 14 adenovirus is present at MCRD Parris Island. 

FRI surveillance at all eight U.S. military basic training centers indicated FRI rates were at or 

below expected values. NHRC Febrile Respiratory Illness Surveillance Update 

U.S.: Influenza vaccination coverage among health-care 

personnel, 2011-12 flu season

28 September - Influenza vaccination of health-care personnel (HCP) is recommended by 

the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) (1). Vaccination of HCP can 

reduce morbidity and mortality from influenza and its potentially serious consequences 

among HCP, their family members, and their patients (1–3). To provide timely estimates of 

influenza vaccination coverage and related data among HCP for the 2011–12 influenza 

season, CDC conducted an Internet panel survey with 2,348 HCP during April 2–20, 2012. 

This report summarizes the results of that survey, which found that, overall, 66.9% of HCP 

reported having had an influenza vaccination for the 2011–12 season. Morbidity and 

Mortality Weekly Report

top of page...

VETERINARY/FOOD SAFETY

U.S.: Salmonella sickens 30 in 19 states, peanut butter 

recalled

25 September - Thirty people in 19 states have fallen ill from Salmonella poisoning, 

probably from tainted peanut butter, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

said on Tuesday. Health officials and regulators point to Trader Joe's Valencia Creamy Salted 

Peanut Butter made with Sea Salt as the likely source of the outbreak of the Salmonella 

Bredeney strain, the CDC said in a statement. The median age of those taken ill is 7, and 

four people have been hospitalized, the CDC said. The outbreak is scattered across the 

United States, and Massachusetts has the most cases with three. Reuters

U.S.: Tests show levels of arsenic in rice

21 September - Preliminary results of a large study by the U.S. government and research by 

a non-profit organization show measurable amounts of arsenic in samples of rice and rice 

products for sale in U.S. markets. One form of the chemical, inorganic arsenic, is a known 

human carcinogen. While the private study cautions that people should limit their 

consumption of rice products, government scientists say they are making no 

recommendations until their study is complete, sometime next year. VOA
WELLNESS

A call for caution on antipsychotic drugs

24 September - ... In 2011 alone,...antipsychotic drugs were prescribed to 3.1 million 

Americans at a cost of $18.2 billion, a 13 percent increase over the previous year, according 

to the market research firm IMS Health. Those drugs are used to treat such serious 

psychiatric disorders as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and severe major depression. But 

the rates of these disorders have been stable in the adult population for years... It was also 

soon discovered that the second-generation antipsychotic drugs had serious side effects of 

their own, namely a risk of increased blood sugar, elevated lipids and cholesterol, and 

weight gain... Nonetheless, there has been a vast expansion in the use of these secondgeneration antipsychotic drugs in patients of all ages, particularly young people. Until 

recently, these drugs were used to treat a few serious psychiatric disorders. But now, 

unbelievably, these powerful medications are prescribed for conditions as varied as very 

mild mood disorders, everyday anxiety, insomnia and even mild emotional discomfort. New 

York Times

Eunuchs lived longer than other men: study

24 September - Castrated men -- sometimes called eunuchs -- in the old Korean dynasty 

lived much longer than other men, according to a new study. The findings suggest that 

male sex hormones such as testosterone may be one reason men tend to have shorter life 

spans than women, the researchers said. The study was published Sept. 25 in the journal 

Current Biology. Medline Plus

For weight loss, less exercise may be more

19 September - Most people who start working out in hopes of 

shedding pounds wind up disappointed, a lamentable 

circumstance familiar to both exercisers and scientists. Multiple 

studies, many of them covered in this column, have found that 

without major changes to diet, exercise typically results in only 

modest weight loss at best (although it generally makes people much healthier). Quite a few 

exercisers lose no weight. Some gain. But there is encouraging news about physical activity 

and weight loss in a new study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen. It found

that exercise does seem to contribute to waist-tightening, provided that the amount of 

exercise is neither too little nor, more strikingly, too much. New York Times

Screen all adults for alcohol misuse: task force

24 September - Health providers should screen all adults and pregnant women for risky 

drinking habits, a government-backed expert panel said Monday in new draft 

recommendations. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines were released along 

with a summary of past research showing a few brief counseling sessions can help cut 

excessive drinking in people who aren't full-blown alcoholics. Researchers found that with 
such interventions, at least one in every ten risky drinkers can be brought back down to 

what is considered a safe drinking level. For men, that means no more than four drinks on 

any one occasion and at most 14 a week. For women, the numbers are three and seven, 

respectively. Medline Plus

Weight-loss benefits from cutting out sugary drinks 

short-lived

25 September - A program to reduce teenagers' intake of sugary drinks showed early 

benefits, but they didn't last, a new study found. This study, published Friday in the New 

England Journal of Medicine, randomly assigned 224 overweight or obese teenagers who 

regularly drank sugary beverages into two groups. One group participated in a year-long 

intervention program to discourage them from drinking sugary drinks. The other group did 

not. ABC News

top of page...

USAFRICOM

Cameroon: Death toll rises in flooding, which has 

displaced thousands

21 September - Cameroon authorities have found six more bodies in flood waters, bringing 

the number killed to as high as 40 in the wake of tropical downpours and the breaching of a 

dam in the west African country. The inundation in the Far North Region has affected more 

than 26,000, officials said Thursday, and in neighboring Nigeria at least 15 deaths are 

blamed on waters rushing into the country from Cameroon's compromised Lagdo Dam on 

the Benoue River. Cameroon's Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary has described 

the flooding as "a calamity" and called for urgent action to save lives and property. Local 

officials are calling it the worst flood disaster in over 60 years. CNN

Guinea, Sierra Leone: Cholera outbreak easing

24 September - The cholera outbreak in Guinea and Sierra Leone that has killed 392 people 

and infected more than 25,000 others since February is slowing down, say aid groups who 

also call for sustained measures to wipe out the disease. Between late August and 16 

September, new cholera cases per week have dropped from 2,110 to 1,418 in Sierra Leone 

and from 1,152 to 346 in neighbouring Guinea, the UN Office for the Coordination of 

Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report. “The situation is improving faster in Guinea in 

terms of new cases and in Sierra Leone in terms of lethality. The number of affected districts 

remains unchanged: 12 out of 13 in Sierra Leone and 11 out of 33 in Guinea,” OCHA said.

IRIN
Malaria drugs significantly prevent disease in Africa

24 September - A new study shows that widely distributing 

anti-malaria drugs to healthy children in African countries 

can significantly reduce the number of new cases of the 

disease. The medical aid group Doctors Without Borders 

says it gave intermittent doses of anti-malaria drugs to 

175,000 children in Mali and Chad. It says the result was a 67 percent decrease in the 

number of simple malaria cases in the region of Mali where the study took place, and up to 

an 86 percent drop in Chad. Doctors Without Borders says there also was a significant 

decrease in the number of cases of severe malaria. VOA

Niger: Child mortality slashed

20 September - Niger has nearly halved the death rate of children below five years old 

since 1998, a significant drop highlighting the benefits of free universal health care for 

children and pregnant women as well as increased donor funding for health, The Lancet 

said in a study released on 20 September. The mortality rate reduced from 226 deaths per 

1,000 live births in 1998 to 128 deaths in 2009, an annual rate of decline of 5.1 percent, said 

the study, noting that the slump bettered the fourth Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 

to cut the child mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. Niger's achievement 

was also far better than its neighbours in West Africa. All Africa

Nigeria: Traditional stoves detrimental to heath, 

environment

21 September - After malaria and AIDS, Nigeria's number one cause of death is diseases 

associated with traditional cooking. Activists say nearly 100,000 people die yearly in Nigeria 

from what they call a "silent energy crisis." Bola Abiola serves amala, a traditional Nigerian 

dish made of yam flour while smoke billows from the nearby outdoor kitchen. Like many 

Nigerian cooks, she does not know about the health risks from the smoky wooden stoves 

that boil the amala, which activists are now calling "killers" of both people and the 

environment. But like many who cook with traditional stoves in Nigeria she doesn’t feel 

there is any choice. VOA

Uganda: Condom use infrequent despite rising HIV rates

21 September - Despite nationwide efforts to increase HIV 

awareness and common fears of unplanned pregnancy, young, 

sexually active Ugandans continue to have risky sex without using 

condoms consistently, spurring new measures to promote the 

prophylactic. Only 36.2 percent of women and 52.9 percent of 

men between 20 and 24 used a condom during their last sexual intercourse in the past 12 

months, according to the National AIDS Indicator Survey, launched on 18 September. 

Among those who had more than two partners in the past 12 months, only 23.4 percent of 
women and 30 percent of men reported using a condom during their last intercourse. The 

research also reveals that a majority of young Ugandans lack comprehensive knowledge 

about HIV; just 39 percent of men and women aged 15 to 24 have all the facts on how HIV 

is spread and how it can be prevented. IRIN

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USCENTCOM

Afghanistan: Several Afghan school girls poisoned in 

capital Kabul

26 September - Afghan education officials on Wednesday said at least 16 school girls were 

poisoned in capital Kabul city today. A spokesman for the ministry of education of 

Afghanistan Amanullah Iman said the school girls who were poisoned were taken to 

hospital for treatment purposes. Mr. Iman further added two school girls are still in the 

hospital while the remaining school girls have been discharged after receiving medical 

treatment. The incident took place early Wednesday morning around 7:00 am in Um-ulBenin high school at the 6th district of capital Kabul and the school girls were immediately 

taken to hospital. In the meantime officials in Um-ul-Benin high school said the reason 

behind the poisoning of the school girls is unclear and the health officials are investigating 

the issue. Khaama Press

Jordan/Syria: As numbers swell, Syrian refugees face 

new woes

25 September - Syria's refugees keep growing dramatically 

in number, and no country in the region has taken in more 

of them than Jordan — a poor, desert nation that is now 

hosting some 200,000 Syrians. The conditions for the 

refugees are perhaps harsher in Jordan than in any other 

country, with many people sheltered in tents on a hot, dusty plain just inside Jordan's 

northern border with Syria... About 30,000 people are now living in the Zaatari camp, with 

their numbers growing every day. And the Jordanian government says it can't keep up... 

[Jordan] is already under stress, he says. It already hosts millions of Iraqi refugees. Its 

economy is tanking, and it has its own protest movement to worry about. Jordanians, he 

says, cannot add too many Syrian refugees to this mix. NPR

Pakistan: A dismal place to be a kid, report finds

24 September - ... Now a new report backs up what was obvious: Pakistan is an increasingly 

dismal place to be a kid. The report from one of Pakistan’s leading child advocacy groups, 

the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child, presents an overwhelmingly bleak 

picture. But solutions are not easy to come by. Under the country’s constitution, the federal 
government cannot impose blanket child-protection regulations on the provinces, officials 

say. More than a third of the nation’s population age 5 to 9 — about 7 million children — is 

not enrolled in school, the report found. Floods that cause mass displacements and 

damaged schools compound the problem, adding 1.8 million children to that total. Pakistan 

is also the only country in the world where polio rates are increasing. In 2005, there were 28 

reported cases of polio in the nation of 180million. The number increased to 197 reported 

cases reported in 2011. There are 35 cases so far this year, according to the Global Polio 

Eradication Initiative, but that might rise. Taliban leaders have issued fatwas against the 

administration of polio drops in parts of the tribal areas. Washington Post

Pakistan: Fear and suspicion in Pakistan hamper global 

polio fight

27 September - When Bill Gates hears about children like Fahad Usman, a two-year-old 

Pakistani boy crippled by polio before he learned to walk, the billionaire philanthropist 

sounds frustrated and fired up. Fear and suspicion have prevented thousands of children 

like Fahad from being protected against the infectious and incurable disease. Now 

more than ever, it's time that stopped, Gates says. Rumors that polio immunization 

campaigns are "Western plots to sterilize Muslims" or that the vaccine is "George Bush's 

urine" underline the need to take politics out of the fight to eradicate polio, he says. If 

Gates, the most influential of global health advocates, gets his wish - and in an 

interview he's pretty sure he will - the world won't stop at the 99 percent reduction in 

cases so far, but will rid itself of polio completely by 2018. Reuters

Saudi Arabia adopts measures to limit virus infection 

during Haj

26 September - Saudi Arabia has taken precautions to prevent disease spreading among 

Muslim pilgrims next month after a Qatari man was infected with a virus related to the 

deadly SARS, a health ministry official said on Wednesday. The World Health Organisation 

put out a global alert on Sunday saying a new, previously unknown, virus had infected a 49-

year-old Qatari man who had recently travelled to Saudi Arabia, where another man with an 

almost identical virus had already died. Britain's Health Protection Agency and respiratory 

disease experts said there was no immediate cause for concern, although authorities were 

watching for any signs of the virus spreading... "The Health Ministry has taken preventative 

measures to deal with the influx of over 2 million Haj pilgrims," Ziad Memish, the deputy 

minister for public health, told Reuters. "The measures include monitoring the entrances 

through land, sea and air to evaluate the people entering and obtain samples if any 

symptoms are apparent," he added. Reuters

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USEUCOM

England: Faith leaders in 'HIV healing' claims

24 September - Dangerous cases of faith leaders who tell people with HIV to stop taking 

their life-saving drugs have been identified by African-led community groups in a number 

of locations across England. Seven groups said there were instances of people being told by 

faith leaders they had been "healed" through prayer - and then pressured to stop taking 

antiretroviral medication, according to the charity African Health Policy Network (AHPN).

Cases were reported to have taken place in Finsbury Park, Tottenham, and Woolwich, in 

London, as well as in Manchester, Leeds and at a number of churches across the North 

West. Last year, BBC London identified three people with HIV who died after they stopped 

taking antiretroviral drugs on the advice of their Evangelical Christian pastors. AHPN, which 

tackles health inequalities for Africans living in the UK, called on the government to do 

more to prevent faith leaders encouraging people with HIV to stop taking their drugs. BBC 

News

Israel: Leishmaniasis, cutaneous, visceral

25 September - The Environmental Protection Ministry expressed concern over the growing 

number of cutaneous leishmaniasis cases reported in over the past year, and has been able 

to obtain NIS 10 million (roughly USD 2.6 million) in government funds to curb a potential 

outbreak. The funds are to be allocated across 3 years. The Health Ministry has reports of 

293 patients in 2011 -- double the number of cases reported in 2010. According to the 

Environmental Protection Ministry's data, over 1650 people in 50 communities is Israel have 

contracted the Oriental sore over the past decade, especially around the Sea of Galilee, the 

Judea Mountains, the western Negev, the Arava, and the Beit Shean Valley. Cutaneous 

leishmaniasis, commonly known as "Oriental sore," or "Aleppo boil," is a skin infection 

caused by a single-celled parasite. It is usually transmitted by sandflies. The ministry 

appealed to the cabinet for funds meant to help at-risk communities, in the form of setting 

up sandfly traps and building fences to keep the rock hyrax -- which is a known carrier --

out. "This is a difficult disease that has inflicted many and left them scarred, literally," 

Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan said. "After years of ignoring this hazard, the 

government is taking on dealing with this national infliction." ProMED-mail

United Kingdom: Cancer deaths expected to drop 17% by 

2030

25 September - Cancer death rates are predicted to drop by 17% (16.8) in the UK by 2030, 

according to Cancer Research UK's new report. This new research coincides with a study 

from February of this year, which revealed that in 2012, the rates of deaths from cancer (per 

100,000 people, by age) have decreased. 2010 saw 157,275 cancer deaths in the UK alone -

170 of every 100,000 cancer patients died. However, experts believe that by 2030, this 

number will drop from 170 to 142. According to the report, this is partly because there are 
now better rates of survival, due to earlier diagnosis and treatment improvements. The 

authors note that there has been a decrease in cancers related to smoking, which in turn, 

has resulted in less deaths. Medical News Today

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USNORTHCOM

Canada bans key substance in 'bath salts' drug

26 September - Canada on Wednesday banned the main substance used to make "bath 

salts," a new and emerging drug linked to a grisly attack in the United States in which a man 

almost killed another by chewing his face. The drug -- which as its name suggests 

resembles regular bath salts in texture -- can spark an often aggressive, psychotic 

experience for users, including intense hallucinations. Key to the production of the drug is a 

synthetic stimulant known as MDPV, which the new regulations make illegal to possess, 

traffic, export or import in Canada, except for authorized research and scientific activities.

MDPV is now included in the same category of illicit drugs as heroin and cocaine. AFP

U.S.: Another 400 West Nile cases reported in past week 

- CDC

26 September - More than 400 new U.S. cases of West Nile virus emerged in the last week, 

in an outbreak that remains the second worst on record but has begun to show signs of 

slowing. So far this year, 3,545 cases have been reported to federal health officials as of 

September 25, up from 3,142 reported the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC) said in its weekly update of outbreak data. That marked a rise of nearly 13 

percent, down considerably from a 30 percent weekly jump witnessed earlier this month. 

Chicago Tribune

U.S.: Hantavirus outbreak puzzles experts

23 September - The deadly outbreak of hantavirus in Yosemite 

National Park has sent disease experts and rodent researchers 

scrambling for answers as people across the country second-guess 

their plans to visit California's most famous landscape. The 

California Department of Public Health and the U.S. Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention are trying to figure out why the mouse-borne virus struck 

suddenly, spread quickly and infected so many people this summer, but not in any 

other years. One prominent theory is that the mysterious cluster of hantavirus cases was 

caused by a skyrocketing mouse population in Yosemite Valley. "I suspect that the 

underlying factors likely are simple - more deer mice," said Douglas Kelt, a professor of 

wildlife ecology at UC Davis. "Why more deer mice? Presumably more food and a less 

rigorous winter." It's a pattern that has occurred in the past with similar results, most 
notably in 1993 when the disease was first identified after a deadly outbreak on the Navajo 

reservation in New Mexico. Also suspect are the tent cabins, built in 2009, where the people 

who were infected had stayed. SF Gate

U.S.: Military leaders point to schools in U.S. fat fight

25 September - Former U.S. military leaders have identified a latent threat to the potential 

for a leaner, more agile fighting force: the school vending machine. In a report to be 

released on Tuesday, a group of 300 retired military officers said school-age children are 

eating 400 billion excess calories a year - the equivalent of 2 billion candy bars - from junk 

food sold in such machines as well as in snack bars and cafeterias that should be off-limits.

Those extra calories from candy, chips and sugary drinks amount to about 130 calories a 

day, which over a student's school years can lead to extra pounds. "The calories add up," the 

U.S. generals and admirals said in their report, which calls for tougher standards on the 

snacks schools can sell. "While limiting the sale of junk food is not a solution by itself for the 

childhood obesity epidemic, it is part of the solution," wrote the retired officers, who are 

part of a nonprofit group called Mission: Readiness, focused on youth issues. Reuters

U.S.: Suicide now kills more Americans than car crashes 

- study

20 September - More Americans now commit suicide than die in car crashes, making suicide 

the leading cause of injury deaths, according to a new study. In addition, over the last 10 

years, while the number of deaths from car crashes has declined, deaths from poisoning and 

falls increased significantly, the researchers report. "Suicides are terribly undercounted; I 

think the problem is much worse than official data would lead us to believe," said study 

author Ian Rockett, a professor of epidemiology at West Virginia University. There may be 

20 percent or more unrecognized suicides, he said. Many of the poisoning deaths may 

actually be intended, he added. A lot of these deaths are due from overdoses of 

prescription drugs, Rockett noted. "We have a situation that has gotten out of hand," he 

said. "I would like to see the same attention paid to other injuries as has been paid to traffic 

injuries." The report was published online Sept. 20 in the American Journal of Public Health.

MedlinePlus

U.S.: Variation in antibiotic prescribing hints at overuse

24 September - Seniors in the U.S. are prescribed at least one antibiotic each every year, on 

average - but the rate of prescribing varies quite a bit across the country, a new study finds. 

In some parts of the country, seniors averaged less than one antibiotic prescription per year, 

while in others, they received between one and two per year, according to a report in 

Archives of Internal Medicine. Records from Medicare, the government-run insurance 

program for the elderly, showed older adults in the South were prescribed more antibiotics 

than seniors living elsewhere in the country and that prescribing everywhere went up in the 

winter months. That variation suggests overuse of antibiotics in some cases - an important 

public health issue because both normal and inappropriate use of the drugs can lead to 

bacterial resistance, which makes future infections extra difficult to treat. Reuters
U.S.: Washington state’s first ‘zombie bees’ reported; 

parasite causes bees to fly erratically, die

24 September - The infection is as grim as it sounds: “Zombie bees” have a parasite that 

causes them to fly at night and lurch around erratically until they die. And experts say the 

condition has crept into Washington state. “I joke with my kids that the zombie apocalypse 

is starting at my house,” said Mark Hohn, a novice beekeeper who spotted the infected 

insects at his suburban Seattle home... San Francisco State University biologist John 

Hafernik first discovered zombie bees in California in 2008. Hafernik now uses a website to 

recruit citizen scientists like Hohn to track the infection across the country. Observers also 

have found zombie bees in Oregon and South Dakota. The infection is another threat to 

bees that are needed to pollinate crops. Hives have been failing in recent years due to a 

mysterious ailment called colony collapse disorder, in which all the adult honey bees in a 

colony suddenly die. Washington Post

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USPACOM

China: Foxconn plant closed after 2,000 riot

24 September - About 2,000 Chinese employees of an iPhone assembly company fought a 

pitched battle into the early hours of Monday, forcing the huge electronics plant where they 

work to be shut down... Foxconn, which assembles Apple's iPhones as well as making 

components for other global electronics firms, has faced accusations of poor conditions and 

mistreatment of workers at its operations in China, where it employs about 1 million people. 

The company says it has been spending heavily in recent months to improve working 

conditions and to raise wages. Reuters

India: Numerous encephalitis cases devastate north 

India

21 September - Health officials in northern India report that a serious outbreak of Japanese 

encephalitis has infected hundreds of children. The viral brain disease, which can cause 

permanent disabilities and sometimes death, is a common seasonal disease in Asia. Experts 

say it is likely the virus also is spreading in other countries in the region, but is going 

undetected due to inadequate surveillance and diagnostics. In India every year, during the 

rainy monsoon season, hundreds of children die or become disabled, physically or mentally, 

after contracting Japanese encephalitis. Doctor K. P. Kushwaha is a senior pediatrician at a 

government hospital in Gorakhpur, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. "We have the 

highest number of patients admitted in one day, which is 550 patients," said Kushwaha. "We 

have never got such figures in the past. In the current cases of encephalitis, the children not 

only have swelling in their brains, but their skin, kidney, liver and heart also show swelling.”

VOA
Japan: Spike in heart failures follows 2011 quake

27 September - Following the massive earthquake and tsunami of March, 2011, which 

devastated parts of eastern Japan, the number of heart failure cases spiked in Miyagi 

Prefecture and remained elevated for six weeks, according to a new study. The number of 

people diagnosed with cardiac arrest and other heart problems also jumped immediately 

following the earthquake, but tapered back to earlier levels within three weeks. Dr. Hiroaki 

Shimokawa, one of the authors of the study and a professor at Tohoku University Graduate 

School of Medicine, told Reuters Health that factors such as drug discontinuation, cold 

temperatures in the short term, excessive salt intake from preserved food, and mental and 

physical stresses over a long period likely contributed to the sustained increase in heart 

failure cases. Yahoo! News

Japan: Super typhoon Jelawat to threaten Okinawa then 

Japan

26 September - Another monster typhoon has spun up in the western Pacific. Following 

super typhoon Sanba that ripped across Okinawa and then into South Korea, super typhoon 

Jelawat is also eyeing Okinawa before a possible encounter with Japan. Jelawat is the 

equivalent of a category-4 hurricane, with peak sustained winds of 150 mph. Briefly 

Tuesday, it reached category-5 strength with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph 

becoming the second strongest storm on Earth in 2012, trailing only Sanba whose peak 

winds reached 178 mph. Washington Post

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USSOUTHCOM

Cuba: Cholera, diarrhea, and dysentery update

26 September - 4 weeks after the Cuban government announced that an outbreak of 

cholera in the eastern part of the island was over, there are unconfirmed reports of new 

cases popping up in 2 small towns. 27 cases were reported in the municipality of San Luis, in 

the eastern province of Santiago de Cuba, and 19 more in the Bahia Honda municipality 

[Artemisa province] 35 miles [56 km] west of Havana. A dissident living in San Luis, said that 

area public health workers and residents have told him of the more than 2 dozen confirmed 

cases and 102 suspected cases of cholera in the municipality over the past 2 weeks. He said 

that on Tue 25 Sep 2012, he saw police checking IDs on municipal roads to keep out nonresidents and barring all access to the Eliseo Reyes clinic in the village of Chile. Tanker trucks 

were delivering water to areas where the aqueduct has been shut down. The Cuban 

government has not publicly acknowledged any new cholera cases since 28 Aug 2012, when 

it declared that an epidemic focused in the eastern city of Manzanillo had ended with a final 

tally of 3 deaths and 417 confirmed cases. Government officials provided little information 

during that 2-month long outbreak of cholera, Cuba's first in many decades. They confirmed 
it only after independent journalists and dissidents began reporting on the epidemic.

ProMED-mail

El Salvador gets a cervical cancer screening test that 

women can administer at home

24 September - A new way to screen poor women for 

cervical cancer was introduced this month in El Salvador, 

using a test that was originally developed in China. Cervical 

cancer was once the leading cancer killer of women in the 

United States, but deaths have been dramatically reduced in 

the last 50 years as a result of pap smears. But those must be stained and read under a 

microscope by a trained cytologist, which makes them expensive and unwieldy in poor 

countries, where cervical cancer still kills more than 250,000 women a year. Some countries, 

like Thailand, screen women by shining a light on the cervix and painting it with vinegar, 

which reveals precancerous lesions that can then be burned off with liquid nitrogen or 

carbon dioxide. (Above, community health workers in Thailand.). The new test, called 

careHPV and made by Qiagen, a Dutch company, is a swab test for the DNA of the 

papillomaviruses that cause cancer. In a study published in The Lancet Oncology, it was 

more than twice as sensitive as the vinegar test. The test worked even when women 

inserted the swabs themselves, which can be done at home and so is easier and faster than 

having them go to a clinic for visual inspections. New York Times

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