Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Indonesian village hunts for 7-meter killer python

March 29, 2010

ASSOCIATED PRESS
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian villagers are hunting a giant python that killed a 13-year-old boy a week ago on Sumatra island.

Police Chief Capt. Joshua Tampubolon said Monday that the 23-feet-long (7-meter-long) python was believed to be hiding in waterway tunnels built by a textile company for its industrial waste.
Villagers from Percut Sei Tuan in Deli Serdang district blocked road access to the tunnels Sunday to protect the public.

Tampubolon said the victim and three friends were swimming in the Tembung River when the snake attacked March 21. It strangled and nearly swallowed the boy before villagers armed with spears forced it to flee.

Pythons native to Indonesia usually grow up to 6 meters.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Article

Thursday, March 18, 2010

H1N1 Swine Flu Still Smoldering in U.S.


March 16, 2010 -- It's no wildfire, but H1N1 swine flu continues to smolder in the U.S.From mid-January to mid-February, the CDC estimates there were 2 million new cases of H1N1 swine flu, causing 18,000 hospitalizations, and about 310 deaths. Read more...http://bit.ly/9SD0GU

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

These 10 Tips Can Make Your Spring Break a Healthy One

DENVER, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Michelle Reesman, RN, Executive Director of Passport Health Colorado, says far too many Spring Break travelers leave home without taking the basic steps she suggests below. "Younger travelers may feel invincible, but they still need to put the same kind of preparation into their health and safety as they do into their destination choice, passport acquisition or flight plans. Too many otherwise wonderful trips are spoiled when these simple rules are ignored," Reesman advises.

Tips Here

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Health care volunteers and disasters: First, be prepared

(PHILADELPHIA) – A surge in volunteers following a major disaster can overwhelm a response system, and without overall coordination, can actually make a situation worse instead of better .The outpouring of medical volunteers who responded to the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti in January provides a roadmap for health care providers during future disasters, say the authors of a New England Journal of Medicine "Perspectives" piece that will be published online February 24. Read more...http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-02/uops-hcv022410.php

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Women, men differ in travel-related ills

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Traveling around the globe can make anyone fall ill, but men and women tend to differ in the types of illnesses they suffer, a new study finds.

Health

In a study of almost 59,000 international travelers, researchers found that women were more likely than men to come down with bouts of diarrhea or other gastrointestinal problems, colds, urinary tract infections and adverse reactions to medications, such as those taken to prevent malaria.

Men, meanwhile, had higher risks of fever, including from infections transmitted by mosquitoes, ticks or other such "vectors," such as malaria, dengue and rickettsia.

Men were also more likely than women to be treated for mountain sickness, frostbite or sexually transmitted diseases.

The findings offer travelers and travel-medicine specialists a clearer idea of how to prepare for international trips, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Patricia Schlagenhauf of the University of Zurich in Switzerland.

Read more...