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Public Health and Safety Related Articles

Overweight American Children and Adolescents Becoming Fatter - Overweight American children and adolescents have become fatter over the last decade, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and National Institute on Aging (NIA). They examined adiposity shifts across socio-demographic groups over time and found U.S. children and adolescents had significantly increased adiposity measures such as body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and triceps skinfold thickness (TST). The increases in adiposity were more pronounced in some sex-ethnic groups such as black girls. In addition, these groups gained more abdominal fat over time, which was indicated by waist size and posed greater health risks than elevated BMI. Their results are featured in the August 2010 issue of the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity....

Study Examines Pro-Anorexia and Pro-Bulimia Websites - A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examines the content and messages presented by websites that appear to support or encourage eating disorders. These websites use images, text and interactive applications to further knowledge, attitudes and behaviors to achieve dangerously low body weights. The study is the largest and most rigorous analysis of pro-eating disorder websites and it is available online in advance of print in the June 17 edition of the American Journal of Public Health....

Researchers Discover Additional Benefit of Vitamin A - Vitamin A is critical to maternal health and child survival, yet in most developing countries Vitamin A deficiency is a leading cause of blindness and increased child mortality. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has long been a leader in vitamin A research, and scientists at the School recently discovered a link between offspring lung function and maternal vitamin A supplementation. The results are published in the May 13, 2010, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine....

Bloomberg School Receives $100K Grand Challenges Explorations Grant - The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health announced today that it has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support an innovative global health research project conducted by Jason Rasgon, PhD, an assistant professor with the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute, and his research to develop an evolution-proof pesticide for eliminating mosquitoes that transmit malaria to humans....

Hardship and Human Rights Violations Continue among Burma Cyclone Survivors - The survivors of Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma (also known as Myanmar) in May 2008, continue to face challenges in rebuilding their lives, in lack of access to relief and reconstruction efforts, and in violations of basic rights more than one year after the storm, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Emergency Assistance Team--Burma....

Experts Call for Changes to Medical Education Policy to Prepare for Aging America - Leading physician policy experts are calling for changes in medical education policy at multiple levels to ensure that physicians are ready to treat the country s growing older adult population. In the May issue of Health Affairs, Chad Boult, MD, MPH, MBA, director of the Roger C. Lipitz Center for Integrated Health Care at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and co-authors Steven R. Counsell, MD, Rosanne M. Leipzig, MD, PhD, and Robert A. Berenson, MD, propose several policy solutions to help the United States prepare for the coming influx of geriatric patients....

Myths about Teens Busted in New Guide for Parents - The new book, The Teen Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development, dispels many common myths about adolescence with the latest scientific findings on the physical, emotional, cognitive, sexual and spiritual development of teens. Authors Clea McNeely and Jayne Blanchard from the Center for Adolescent Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, provide useful tips and strategies for real-life situations and experiences from bullying, to nutrition and sexuality...

Fatal Injuries Increase in Older Americans - The risk of dying from injuries is increasing for Americans ages 65 and older according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health s Center for Injury Research and Policy. The report found significant increases in death rates from falls (42 percent increase), machinery (46 percent increase), motorcycle crashes (145 percent increase) and unintentional poisoning (34 percent increase). The results are published in the February issue of Injury Prevention and are available online at the journal s website....

Stacey DiLorenzo Joins the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as Senior Director of Communications - Stacey DiLorenzo is joining the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health as senior director of communications. Starting April 1, DiLorenzo will lead the Bloomberg School s marketing and strategic communications, as well as oversee the day-to-day operations of the School s publications, media relations and web design teams....

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Offers Three New Graduate Degree Programs - Beginning in the fall 2010, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health will begin offering three new master s degree programs, the Master of Health Science (MHS) in Social Factors in Health, the Master of Health Science (MHS) degree in Health Economics, and the combined Bachelor of Arts and Master of Health Science (BA/MHS) degree program in Health Policy. The new degree programs are currently enrolling students for the 2010-2011 academic year....

Business Affiliation Could Increase Potential Risk of Farm-to-Farm Transmission of Avian Influenza - A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examines the potential influence that the business connections between broiler chicken growers may have on the transmission of avian influenza, H5N1. According to the study, the risk of between-farm transmission is significantly greater among farms within the same company group than it is between farms with different company affiliation. The study is among the first to analyze the impact of company affiliation on the spread of diseases from farm to farm and it appears in the March 26 edition of PLoS One....

Investing Wisely in Child Survival with the Lives Saved Tool (LiST) - The International Journal of Epidemiology published a special issue today chronicling the development and recent use of the Lives Saved Tool (LiST: http://www.jhsph.edu/iip/list)--a user-friendly computer program that helps donor agencies and governments make investments in child survival programs for maximum impact. LiST was developed in the Child Health Epidemiology Research Group (CHERG) with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. The special issue of International Journal of Epidemiology was edited by Neff Walker, PhD, a senior scientist with the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and is now available online (http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/content/vol39/suppl_1/)....

Bloomberg School of Public Health Awarded $15 Million for Laboratory Renovation and Modernization - The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health will receive nearly $15 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for renovation and modernization of laboratory space at its main facility at 615 N. Wolfe Street in Baltimore, Md. The grant was awarded by the National Center for Research Resources, part of the National Institutes of Health. The renovation includes updating labs and new infrastructure in the 45-year old Hume Wing located on the building s north side along Monument Street. The nine-story wing was built in 1964 and houses 25 percent of the School s research laboratories....

Keeping Up with the Neighbors Speeds Vaccine Use - Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health conducted an analysis of worldwide use of Haemophilus influenza Type b vaccine (Hib) to determine what factors influenced a nation s adoption of the vaccine. The study found that a nation s eligibility for support from the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunization (GAVI) and whether a country s neighbors used the vaccine were major influencing factors in addition to price of the vaccine. The findings appear in the March 16 edition of PLoS Medicine....

Researchers Develop New Methods for Imputing Data for Geographic Analysis - Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have developed new methods for analyzing health data geographically. Typically, data are plotted spatially through a process known as geocoding in which mailing address information is translated into map coordinates. However, not all addresses can be converted successfully (nongeocodable). Rural postal routes, post office boxes, and addresses with errors or missing information cannot be mapped using geocoding. Health records linked with these type addresses have traditionally been discarded from analysis leading to concerns of bias and underreporting. In a study published February 10 in the journal PLoS ONE, the researchers develop and evaluate strategies for including nongeocoded data in spatial analysis....

Hemoglobin A1c Outperforms Fasting Glucose for Risk Prediction - Measurements of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) more accurately identify persons at risk for clinical outcomes than the commonly used measurement of fasting glucose, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. HbA1c levels accurately predict future diabetes, and they better predict stroke, heart disease and all-cause mortality as well. The study appeared in the March 4, 2010, issue of New England Journal of Medicine....

Tobacco Control Training Course Now Available in all 6 U.N. Languages - The Institute for Global Tobacco Control (IGTC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health now offers training in all six official United Nations languages. The translated learning course, Global Tobacco Control: Learning from the Experts is available in Spanish, French, Russian, Arabic and Chinese, as well as English. The content is available free of charge at GlobalTobaccoControl.org, a site funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies....

Mosquitoes--Not Birds--May Have Carried West Nile Virus Across U.S. - Mosquitoes--not birds as suspected--may have a played a primary role in spreading West Nile virus westward across the United States, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study is among the first to examine the role of mosquitoes in the dispersion of West Nile virus across the U.S. and is published in the March 2 edition of Molecular Ecology....

Majority of Marylanders Without Advance Medical Directives - Approximately 66 percent of respondents to a Maryland telephone survey do not have advance medical directives, according to a new report by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health s Department of Health Policy and Management. Younger adults and blacks were less likely than older adults and whites, respectively, to report having an advance directive, which includes the living will and health care power of attorney. Advance directive is an end-of-life planning tool that provides instructions for types of medical treatment that are desired and/or who can make decisions about medical care should someone be unable to do so for him or herself. The results will be published in an upcoming issue of Health Policy and are available online at the journal s website....

Carl E. Taylor, 1916-2010 - Carl E. Taylor, MD, DrPH, founder of the academic discipline of international health and a man of spiritual conviction who dedicated his life to the well-being of the world's marginalized people, passed away February 4 from prostate cancer. He was 93. The reach of his life was extraordinary, personally working in over 70 countries and having students from more than 100 countries....

Good Taste Noodle MFG Recalls "Egg Noodles and Wonton Skins" Because Of Possible Health Risk - (US Food & Drug Administration) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- August 29, 2010 - Good Taste Noodle MFG. of Chicago, IL, is recalling its "EGG NOODLES and WONTON SKINS, labeled with production date from June 19, 2010 to August 19, 2010", because they have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune system. Healthy persons infected with sa...

Whole Foods Market® Announces Recall of Morningland Dairy and Ozark Hills Farm Cheese - (US Food & Drug Administration) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- September 2, 2010 - (Cambridge, Massachusetts) – The following press release was issued by Whole Foods Market's North Atlantic Region regarding the voluntary recall of Morningland Dairy of Mountain View, Missouri, Raw Goat Milk Mild Cheddar Cheese. Whole Foods Market's North Atlantic region is announcing a voluntary recall Morningland Dairy and Ozark Hills Farm Raw Goat Milk Mild Cheddar Cheese due to possible contaminat...

California Firm Recalls Cooked Shredded Pork Skin Products Produced Without Inspection - (USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service) - WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2010 - Trinh Company, a San Jose, Calif., establishment, is recalling approximately 2,070 pounds of cooked shredded pork skin products because the products were produced without the benefit of federal inspection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The following products are subject to recall: [View Labels] 8-ounce clear plastic bags of "TRINH CO. BI TUOI COOKED S...

Azteca Linda Corp. Expands Recall of Queso Fresco Because of Possible Health Risk - (US Food & Drug Administration) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 1, 2010 - Azteca Linda Corp. of Brooklyn, NY, is expanding the 8/24/10 recall of QUESO FRESCO (FRESH WHITE CHEESE (exp. SEP 11 2010) to include expiration date SEP 12 2010. In addition, the firm is recalling Queso El Azteca brand REQUESON (RICOTTA CHEESE) with expiration date SEP 19 2010 because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and someti...

Recall from E. coli O26 illnesses reignites non-O157 debate - (Meatingplace.com) - Cargill’s weekend recall of 8,500 pounds of ground beef over concerns about a connection between E. coli O26 and three illnesses in two states was the first recall directly relating a beef product to illnesses traced to a non-O157:H7 STEC, reigniting the debate over testing for and regulating these pathogens. Less than two weeks ago the American Meat Institute sent a letter to Agriculture Tom Vilsack opposing declaring these pathogens adulterant...

QUESERIA CHIPILO INC. Recalls Cheese Products because of Possible Health Risk - (US Food & Drug Administration) - For Immediate Release – August 26, 2010 QUESERIA CHIPILO INC. is announcing a recall of the following cheese products, all date codes up to and including September 26, 2010 – Fresco and Nov 25, 2010 – Oaxaca. Oaxaca String Cheese Queso Fresco The Cheese products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. This is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with...

FSIS Reaches Out To Spanish-Speaking Consumers with the Launch of New Online Tools - (USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service) - WASHINGTON - September 1, 2010 - In a continuing effort to reach more consumers and educators with food safety information, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today launched Pregúntele a Karen (Ask Karen), and the FSIS Spanish language Twitter feed. These new features are meant to further prevent foodborne illnesses and promote food safety by reaching out to a broader audience of consumers. "We are ex...

P&G Voluntarily Recalls a Small Amount of Dry Cat Food - (US Food & Drug Administration) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 31, 2010 – CINCINNATI, The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is voluntarily recalling a small number of bags from a specific lot of one of its dry cat food products due to potential salmonella exposure. No illnesses have been reported, and no other Iams pet food products are involved. Only one code date is affected by this announcement: Product Name Version Code Date UPC Code Iams Indoor Weight Control with ...

Infrared test finds E. coli faster - (Meatingplace.com) - Infrared spectroscopy can drastically cut the time it takes to detect E. coli in ground beef, scientists at Perdue University concluded in a study published in the August issue of the Journal of Food Science. Lisa Mauer, an associate professor of food science, detected E. coli in ground beef in one hour using infrared spectroscopy, whereas conventional plating takes 48 hours. The spectroscopy method also can differentiate between strains of E. ...

The Basics - - Salmonella enteriditis and eggs - (Meatingplace.com) - If you are involved with poultry you have probably been asked about Salmonella and eggs at some point during the last few weeks. The recent incidence with Salmonella enteriditis and eggs has put un-necessary fear into many people. So, in case you need some basic information to answer questions, here it is… Salmonella is a genus of bacteria that commonly live in the intestinal tract of animals and humans. There are over 2,000 types but only a ...

Paleta California Co. Announces Voluntary Recall of Frozen Mamey Paletas Because of Potential Contamination with Salmonella Typhi - (US Food & Drug Administration) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 27, 2010 - In response to the voluntary recall by Goya Foods, Inc. of their frozen mamey pulp, Paleta California, Co. is voluntarily recalling its 4 oz. Mamey Supreme Cream Bar (frozen fruit bars also known as "paletas") due to a potential health risk from Salmonella Typhi. Salmonella Typhi is a bacterium that causes a life-threatening illness called typhoid fever. Persons with typhoid fever develop high and sustai...

Morningland Dairy Conducting Nationwide Voluntary Recall of All Cheese Labeled as Morningland Dairy & Ozark Hills Farm Because of Possible Health Risk - (US Food & Drug Administration) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 30, 2010 - Morningland Dairy of Mountain View, Missouri, is recalling 68,957 pounds of cheese because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and also has the potential to be contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus. Morningland Dairy’s raw milk cheese is sold in the lower 48 states via mail order, retail stores, crop sharing associations, and direct delivery. The cheese is packaged in vacuum-sealed plast...

USDA Offers Food Safety Tips as Hurricane Earl Approaches Eastern Seaboard - (USDA Food Safety & Inspection Service) - WASHINGTON, August 31, 2010 - Due to the potential threat from Hurricane Earl, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing recommendations for residents in the American Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and on the mainland from North Carolina to Maine. FSIS urges those in the projected storm path to watch the storm closely in order to minimize possible foodborne illnesses as a result of power outages and other problems often associa...

FDA seeks court order against Michigan dairy - (US Food & Drug Administration) - The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Scenic View Dairy of Hamilton, Mich., its president, and three of its managers alleging that they sold dairy cows for human consumption that contained illegal drug residues in edible tissues. The complaint, filed Aug. 31, 2010, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, also alleges that...

Torn & Glasser Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Peanuts Fancy, No Peanuts - (US Food & Drug Administration) - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 26, 2010 - Torn & Glasser of Rancho Dominguez, CA is recalling its 3.75lb (#10) cans of "Mixed Nuts Fancy, No Peanuts" marked with lot numbers 0980 and 1940 on the outer case label and bottom lid due to undeclared peanuts. People who have allergies to peanuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products. The recalled "Mixed Nuts Fancy, No Peanuts" were distributed in ...