Friday, July 10, 2009

News Clipping Archives

 

 

Maryland / Regional

O'Malley says Md. better prepared for swine flu in the fall (Baltimore Sun)

Students 1st in Line For Flu Vaccine (Washington Post)

Report: More U.S. Children Living in Poverty, Skipping Meals (Washington Post)

State looks to boost autism help (Annapolis Capital)

Senator visits Frederick to support statewide mental health program (The Gazette)

Our Say: Unchecked problems are bad news for bay swimmers (Annapolis Capital)

 

National / International

Restrict those calories for long-term health (Baltimore Sun)

Dry milk might keep for a while, but so might salmonella (Baltimore Sun)

As for E. coli in cookie dough, that's still a puzzler (Baltimore Sun)

Multiple Bacteria Suspected in Tainted Cookie Dough (Washington Post)

Sleeping with the Enemy (Bed Bugs) (New York Times)

 

Opinion

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Maryland / Regional

O'Malley says Md. better prepared for swine flu in the fall

 

By Paul West

Baltimore Sun

Friday, July 10, 2009

 

BETHESDA - Gov. Martin O'Malley said Thursday that Maryland and other states will be better prepared to deal with a swine flu pandemic this fall because of problems encountered in coping with the outbreak earlier in the year.

 

The Democratic governor made the remarks at the National Institutes of Health during a daylong meeting that brought state and federal officials together at a White House flu "summit."

 

A national vaccination drive is likely to begin in mid-October, said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who cautioned that no final decision has been made.

 

Schools and day-care centers are potential vaccination sites, since children are among those at highest risk. Others in line for early priority include pregnant women and young adults with underlying conditions - such as asthma, diabetes, extreme obesity, and chronic lung and heart disease - that make them more susceptible to the disease.

 

President Barack Obama, who addressed the meeting via phone link from the G-8 summit in Italy, said the government "may end up averting a crisis. That's our hope."

 

Scientists are still working on development of a swine flu vaccine, while monitoring the pandemic's spread in the Southern Hemisphere, where the annual flu season is at its peak. Experimental tests could begin next month, said Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

 

O'Malley, who moderated a panel discussion, praised the administration for refining the advice it gives state and local officials. In May, fuzzy guidance from federal authorities was blamed for causing school districts to overreact, prompting criticism of public officials in Maryland.

 

A total of 726 schools shut down, including six in Maryland, affecting almost 500,000 children nationwide.

 

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the administration is developing guidelines that will help officials decide on a case-by-case basis whether to keep classrooms open.

 

He said O'Malley "let us know when we weren't doing a good job of communicating."

 

In an interview, O'Malley said Maryland is "well prepared, and we want to become very well prepared" to deal with a pandemic this fall. He said state officials would be able to communicate with the public and local officials in more "predictable and regular ways" as a result of lessons learned.

 

Sebelius said the federal government is making $350 million available to state governments and hospitals for pandemic planning. The cost of developing and distributing the vaccine is being borne by federal taxpayers.

 

Health officials said their greatest fear is that the swine flu will mutate into a far deadlier strain.

 

"Influenza may be the most unpredictable of all communicable diseases," said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To date, the H1N1 virus has remained relatively stable as it spreads through South America, Asia and Australia, he said.

 

Fewer than 200 U.S. swine flu deaths have been reported, including two in Maryland, though the CDC estimates that 1 million Americans have been infected.

 

The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, which killed 40 million to 50 million people worldwide, began with a mild wave in the spring, followed by a highly fatal outbreak in the fall.

 

In an effort to raise public awareness, the Health and Human Services Department is offering a $2,500 prize for the best YouTube flu prevention video, which will be shown as a public service announcement on TV.

 

Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun.

 

Students 1st in Line For Flu Vaccine

Mass Campaign Against Pandemic May Begin in Fall

 

By David Brown and Spencer S. Hsu

Washington Post

Friday, July 10, 2009

 

School-age children will be a key target population for a pandemic flu vaccine in the fall, and they may be vaccinated at school in a mass campaign not seen since the polio epidemics of the 1950s.

 

The federal government should get about 100 million doses of vaccine by mid-October, if the current production by five companies goes as planned. But enough vaccine for wide use by the 120 million people especially vulnerable to the newly emerged strain of H1N1 influenza virus will not be available until later in the fall.

 

Those were among the messages administration officials delivered to about 500 state, territorial, city and tribal health officials yesterday at a "flu summit" at the National Institutes of Health's Bethesda campus.

 

President Obama, speaking by audio link from the Group of Eight summit in L'Aquila, Italy, urged "complete ownership" of preparations for what he termed a "significant outbreak" of H1N1 flu in the next few months.

 

"We want to make sure that we are not promoting panic, but we are promoting vigilance and preparation," he said. He added that "the most important thing for us to do is to make sure that state and local officials prepare now to implement a vaccination program in the fall."

 

Children, pregnant women, adults with chronic illnesses, and health-care workers would probably be first in line for the vaccine, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the gathering.

 

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said "we would absolutely welcome" the idea that the nation's schools be a principal venue for delivering the vaccine. He called them "natural sites" and said that "to open our doors and be part of the solution really makes sense."

 

In recent years, some public school systems have offered seasonal flu vaccine to students. But there have been no school-based mass campaigns since the late 1950s, when a generation of children lined up to get the Salk polio vaccine. How a 21st-century effort might be accomplished is an urgent priority of this summer's pandemic planning.

 

Vaccination campaigns, wherever they are held, would be mainly run by local governments.

 

To help them make specific plans, Sebelius said the federal government will provide an additional $350 million, to be disbursed by the end of this month. About $260 million will go to states and territories, with the remaining $90 million to hospitals to help preparations for a likely surge of flu patients in their emergency rooms and intensive care units.

 

The federal government has spent about $1 billion so far on pandemic flu vaccine, with about $7 billion available for further purchases and other pandemic countermeasures.

 

The new H1N1 virus, derived from two strains of influenza virus that circulates in pigs, emerged in late April in Mexico and Southern California. Still called "swine flu" by many people, it is now in every state. More than 1 million Americans have become ill from it, and 170 have died. Worldwide, it is on every inhabited continent and is responsible for at least 420 deaths.

 

Unlike seasonal flu, which typically strikes the elderly most severely, the new strain disproportionately attacks children and young adults. In New York City, of the 47 deaths that occurred through yesterday, 44 were people younger than 65. That trend, however, will pose unusual challenges to the American medical system, as many teenagers and young adults rarely visit doctors or clinics.

 

Patricia O'Neill, vice president of the Montgomery County Board of Education, said last night that she would have no objection to a school vaccination program if health officials deem that to be the best response.

 

As both a parent and as an official, she said, her chief concern is the health and safety of children. "No one wants their child sick and no one wants their child to die," she said.

 

Tanzi West, spokeswoman for Prince George's County schools, also supported the plan.

 

"Anything that protects students and families should be applauded," West said. She added that the school system already provides vaccinations for students through the county's health center.

 

A topic of much discussion at yesterday's summit was what circumstances should trigger the closing of schools.

 

Federal health officials in April gave conflicting guidance to schools with suspected cases, initially recommending that they close for 14 days before judging, based on additional information, that it was enough for infected persons to stay home.

 

New York had one of the earliest outbreaks this spring and closed 55 schools for as many as seven days, with none experiencing a resurgence of the illness when they reopened. Elsewhere, however, the benefit of closing schools was less apparent.

 

Meanwhile, the closures presented "tremendous hardships," O'Neill said, both in missed instruction and in added stress for affected families. One school in her district, Rockville High School, closed for three days in early May after one student contracted the flu. "You can't make up that time for students very easily," O'Neill said.

 

Moderating a panel yesterday that included the video appearances of the governors of Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Wisconsin and Kansas, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) said that he found less than helpful the federal guidance that governments "should consider" closing a school if flu becomes widespread. "We're all considering it," he said tartly.

 

It now seems clear that closing schools purely to limit the spread of the virus will not be recommended if the communicability becomes no more severe than it is now.

 

"One of the things I think we learned is that school closure as a means of decreasing transmission will only be effective if we have systems in place to support people doing the right thing," said Richard E. Besser, who was acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the first two months after the emergence of the new virus.

 

If parents are unable to stay at home with children and instead leave them in libraries, malls and community centers, where people tend to gather in large numbers, then "you're not really doing anything," he added.

 

Only if the virus became much more deadly would a strategy of closing schools to promote "social distancing" be strongly recommended, said Thomas R. Frieden, the new CDC director. He told the gathering that "our goals at the moment are fairly straightforward: reduce illness and minimize social disruption."

 

Why elderly people appear to be largely escaping this flu outbreak is unknown. There is some evidence that older adults may be at least partially immune to this H1N1 strain because of exposure to a distantly related strain earlier in life.

 

But Anne Schuchat, a CDC physician helping to lead its pandemic response, said that "we are not imagining we'll get 100 percent coverage of any one group" in a vaccination campaign.

 

Before any vaccine is given to the public, however, it must be proved safe and effective and the proper dose must be determined in tests this summer. People will probably need to get two doses at least several weeks apart to be protected.

 

The vaccine supply, which could ultimately total between 200 and 300 million doses, will be acquired by the federal government, which will then distribute it to states, territories, cities, tribal governments and federal agencies.

 

"We may recover some of the costs from private insurers," Sebelius said, but added, "This will be a public effort funded by the federal government."

 

State and local officials wanted the Obama administration to galvanize elected leaders around the country to prepare for the fall, and praised the participation yesterday of three Cabinet secretaries and five governors and the commitment of federal grants.

 

"It's one thing to say something. It was another thing to demonstrate it beyond words," said Paul E. Jarris, executive director of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, who expected many states now to hold their own summits.

 

Staff writers Michael D. Shear and Rick Rojas contributed to this report.

 

Copyright 2009 Washington Post.

 

Report: More U.S. Children Living in Poverty, Skipping Meals

Officials Say Statistics Pre-Date Recession, Forecast Worsening Trends

 

By Annie Gowen

Washington Post

Friday, July 10, 2009

 

A growing number of American children are living in poverty and with unemployed parents, and are facing the threat of hunger, according to a new federal report released today.

 

According to "America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being," 18 percent of all children under the age of 17 were living in poverty in 2007, up from 17 percent in 2006. The percentage of children who had at least one parent working full time was 77 percent in 2007, down from 78 percent in 2006. And those living in households with extremely low "food security" -- where parents described children as being hungry or having skipped a meal or gone without eating for an entire day -- increased from 0.6 percent in 2006 to 0.9 percent in 2007, the report said.

 

Federal officials said the statistics released this week pre-date the current economic downturn and forecast darker times for the country's 74 million children under the age of 17, when data on children's lives during the recession becomes available.

 

"It foreshadows greater changes we'll see when we look at these figures next year," said Duane Alexander, director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Heath, one of the government agencies that participated in the study.

 

The report is an annual compilation of statistics on child welfare from several government agencies, including the U.S. Census. It tracks trends in family life, health care, safety and education.

 

Drawing on previously released Census data, the report painted a picture of a younger population that is holding steady as a proportion of the population at about 24 percent, a percentage that is not expected to change through 2021. But the report also showed racial and ethnic backgrounds and living circumstances are undergoing dramatic shifts. The percentage of children who are Hispanic, for example, has increased faster than it has for any other racial or ethnic group, from 9 percent of the population in 1980 to 22 percent in 2008.

 

Forty percent of all children were born to unmarried women in 2007, up from 34 percent in 2002, according to the report, which reiterated a federal study of birth certificates released earlier this year.

 

Experts say that trend has resulted from the lessening stigma of unwed motherhood, an increase in the number of couples who delay or forego marriage and growing numbers of women who want to have babies on their own. At the same time, the teen pregnancy rate ticked up slightly for the second year in a row to 22.2 per 1,000 girls aged s 15-17, after years of decline.

 

Alexander said that there were some bright spots in this year's report, beginning with the fact that 89 percent of children had health insurance in 2007, up from 88 percent in 2006.

 

Experts are hoping that a very slight decline in the number infants born pre-term and with low birth weights after years of steady increases also could be the beginning of a trend, although the decreases were minuscule. Pre-term births comprised 12.7 percent of the total, down from 12.8 percent in 2006, and the proportion of low birth weights infants was 8.2 percent, down from 8.3 percent in 2006.

 

"The exciting thing is that in almost two decades, this is the first chance we've seen of a possible turnaround," Alexander said. "We'll watch it and hopefully the downward trend will continue." Alexander said that a trend, if it continued, likely could be explained by better pre-natal care and new hormone therapies.

 

This year's report also included a look at children with special health-care needs, an estimated 14 percent of all children. The most commonly reported conditions included allergies, asthma, attention deficit disorder, depression and migraines or headaches, according to the report.

 

Copyright 2009 Washington Post.

 

State looks to boost autism help

Conference to address needs of residents with the disorder

 

By Liam Farrell

Annapolis Capital

Friday, July 10, 2009

 

The only book Linda Carter-Ferrier could find in the public library when her son R.J. was diagnosed with autism more than a decade ago painted a grim picture of the child's future.

 

According to the book, R.J.'s life would be characterized by a severe handicap - he couldn't be independent and would likely be institutionalized. What was just as frightening was one of the first statistics she heard: Autism affects only one in 10,000 people.

 

"That sounded pretty isolating," the Fort George G. Meade resident said. "(The book) basically put a concrete ceiling on my 3-year-old's head and said, 'You are doomed.' "

 

Significant changes have occurred since then, and the state is trying to find ways to better serve one of the burgeoning parts of the developmentally disabled community.

 

A conference is being held today in Baltimore to bring together politicians, health officials and other stakeholders to find how to better address the needs of Marylanders with an autism disorder.

 

Spearheaded by House Speaker Michael E. Busch, D-Annapolis, the conference will feature some of the most powerful officials in the state, including Gov. Martin O'Malley, state Schools Superintendent Nancy Grasmick and health Secretary John Colmers.

 

Carter-Ferrier, who has another son with Asperger syndrome, a developmental disorder, is the co-president of the Anne Arundel County Chapter of the Autism Society of America and a speaker at the conference. She said the growing incidence of autism and related disorders - one 2007 federal estimate is 1 in 150 children - has resulted in some changes.

 

The growing population "is not good news," she said. "What is good is that has led to better understanding, better awareness and better services."

Spectrum disorder

 

Autism typically appears during the first three years of a child's life and manifests as difficulties in social interaction and communication skills, according to the Autism Society of America.

 

Symptoms include repeating words or phrases instead of normal responses; little to no eye contact; excessive attachment to objects; and being nonresponsive to verbal cues, even though the child's hearing is normal.

 

It is called a "spectrum disorder," as it tends to affect people in individual ways and at different levels of intensity. Out of the 8,000 special education students in Anne Arundel County schools, 767 have been identified as autistic, according to the school system.

 

Recent controversies about the disorder include whether it is being overdiagnosed and what role small amounts of mercury in vaccinations may have played in causing the cases. No single cause is known, but brain abnormalities, heredity, genetics and medical problems are under study as factors, the ASA said.

 

Because of the nature of the disorder, state programs are spread between the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Department of Education.

 

Busch said the conference is intended to identify state needs to make sure there is a collaborative effort between those agencies as well as sufficient early intervention and a clear path for parents to follow once their children are diagnosed.

 

"As this emerges, Maryland ought to be out in the forefront," he said. "There ought to be at least a network (of programs) we can identify and work through."

 

The speaker, who has made health care a key part of his agenda this term, hopes the conference also will serve an educational purposes on issues from the condition's varying severity to its predilection for affecting males.

 

"There are questions that people want answered," he said.

Extreme parenting

 

The disorder manages to affect all of the minute social interactions that make up a person's day and necessitates constant cues to support the affected individual, Carter-Ferrier said.

 

For example, R.J. needed to be specifically told a stylist was "socializing" with him when he went to get a haircut. Until he got that cue, he kept flipping through magazines and was unaware someone was trying to start a conversation, Carter-Ferrier said.

 

"It is just extreme parenting," she said. "Everything that is automatic for everybody else has to be taught, and taught in an intensive way."

 

Maryland has done a good job recognizing across agencies the unique needs for people with autism, from education to health, but there is disparity of care among jurisdictions, Carter-Ferrier said.

 

"They are playing catch up," she said. "We need more resources, we need more expertise, we need more staff."

 

During his legislative career, Busch has tried to address some of the vagaries of care by backing a Medicaid waiver for early intervention and insurance coverage for habilitative services.

 

He said the challenge will be to take advantage of Maryland's dynamic health centers, such as Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and spread the benefits throughout the state.

 

"You would hope to put the resources out in all areas of the state," Busch said. "But that (problem) is not uncommon in health care in general."

 

New challenges will never be over for Carter-Ferrier, either. R.J., now 17, is on pace to get a high school diploma and her 14-year-old Cory will be entering high school as a freshman, but the issues have migrated from learning how to share toys to learning how to have a conversation in the supermarket.

 

"All of our kids have the capacity to learn and grow and be meaningful," she said. "It's not going to be easier … It is going to be different."

 

Copyright 2009 Annapolis Capital.

 

Senator visits Frederick to support statewide mental health program

Mikulski requests funding for statewide job program for people who are mentally ill

 

By Erica L. Green

The Gazette

Thursday, July 9, 2009

 

David Jeffrey spent 10 years in an abandoned farmhouse, a homeless prisoner of his residual schizophrenia. He needed money, he needed a purpose, and he needed a job.

 

Jeffrey, 56, is now working as a janitor at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in downtown Frederick. He traded in his 10 years of purposelessness, for nine hours a week of fulfillment and treatment.

 

"It certainly helps me feel part of the community, and I feel like I have a purpose in life," Jeffrey said Monday.

 

His is just one of many Frederick success stories that mental health officials, lawmakers and social services officials hope will garner support for a new statewide workforce program for those suffering from mental illness.

 

The Way Station of Frederick, Jeffrey's new home, hosted U.S. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D) this week as she announced that she will seek $725,000 for a program that would help at least 1,500 mentally ill people enter into the workforce in the next three years.

 

Mikulski made the announcement before a spirited crowd at the Way Station in downtown Frederick, where she introduced the program as an innovative way to address health care reform, economic stimulus, and the most successful of social programs, jobs.

 

"This is exactly what President Obama and Congress wants to do. We want people back to work," Mikulski said.

 

"We want to make sure we have insurance for depression and diabetes … schizophrenia and surgery. I think we'll do a better job because of what we're doing here," she concluded.

 

The three-year, $3 million per year initiative is a public-private partnership between the federal government, private donors and mental health organizations.

 

Its mission is to employ more than 500 people per year who suffer from mental illness through customized job creation, coaching and counseling.

 

The goal is to reach thousands more by creating a model in Frederick, and in six neighboring jurisdictions, from which other states can develop their own programs.

 

The program has been under way for about a year in Frederick, Howard, Carroll, Montgomery, Baltimore and Washington counties, and in Baltimore City.

 

The program is funded by the Maryland (72 percent) and the Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation (20 percent). The Weinberg grant, on which the program has been operating for a year, is conditioned upon securing the final 8 percent of funding.

 

The final 8 percent of funding is contingent upon Mikulski's requests for the $725,000 approval from the Senate Committee on Health, Education and Labor. She said she hopes to have an announcement by Labor Day.

 

Mental health professionals, employers, donors and beneficiaries of the program joined Mikulski in promoting the initiative and attested to its effectiveness.

 

Dr. Steve S. Sharfstein, president of Sheppard Pratt Health System, a leading in- and outpatient psychiatric hospital in Maryland, outlined the medical benefits of the program.

 

"It was always thought that you treat the mental illness, and then you get a job," Sharfstein said. "But I have found that even if they may still be hearing voices, they can go to work. Having the structure of work, the self-esteem of work — that's therapy."

 

Sharfstein said preliminary assessments of the program show a 60 percent employment rate, compared with a 10 percent to 15 percent national average for the mentally ill population.

 

It also stands to save taxpayers by curbing publicly funded mental healthcare costs, Sharfstein said. Hospital care can cost about $500 per day; a one-month episode can cost $15,000.

 

In comparison, this program costs $6,000 per participant.

 

And not only are hospital stints expensive, they're "the most horrible experiences — ever," said Daniel Anderson is a Way Station resident and beneficiary of the new workforce program. Anderson, 40, a military veteran who suffered for years from paranoid schizophrenia, is now working at E-End, a technology disposal company in Frederick. It was a move that encouraged him to get his illness, his treatment and life under control.

 

"I served my country for 10 years, and now I serve my community," Anderson testified to Mikulski. Anderson is also continuing his education at Frederick Community College, studying to become a producer for a media outlet.

 

"Who knows, Ms. Senator, maybe I'll be serving you coffee on the set of Fox News," he concluded with a smile.

 

Scott Rose, president of Way Station, said the program will be a great asset. The Way Station served about 180 clients, many of whom are already benefitting from employment.

 

"We're excited because this is truly a win-win," he said. "Frederick County can be proud because we are launching a national demonstration project."

 

Copyright © 2009 Post-Newsweek Media, Inc./Gazette.Net.

 

Our Say: Unchecked problems are bad news for bay swimmers

 

Annapolis Capital

Thursday, July 9, 2009

 

The Chesapeake Bay's blue crab population has been struggling, its rockfish have lesions and its oysters are nearly extinct. So it stands to reason there might be some health implications for those who like to swim in the bay and its tributaries.

Advertisement

 

Those implications are spelled out in the latest Chesapeake Bay Foundation report, released this week: "Bad Water 2009: The Impact on Human Health in the Chesapeake Region." It's available online at www.cbf.org.

 

The report is sobering reading. While those who regularly swim in the bay and its tributaries shouldn't be frightened away from the water, they need to be aware that there are problems. They should keep themselves up to date on bacteria levels and beach closings, and should be wary of getting in the water with cuts or abrasions or at certain times - such as soon after heavy rainfall during warm-weather months.

 

The common denominator in some of the health hazards described in the report: the huge algae blooms fed by nutrient-laden runoff into the bay, and nurtured by slowly rising temperatures.

 

The algae is food for microscopic zooplankton that have a symbiotic relationship with Vibrio, the bacteria that are causing a small but rising number of cases of skin and blood infections, as well as other ailments, in Maryland and Virginia. Nutrient-laden water spurs the growth of "blue-green algae" - actually a class of toxin-generating bacteria called cyanobacteria.

 

Sewage treatment plants, leaky septic systems and pet waste raise the levels of fecal bacteria that now routinely cause beach closings and swimming advisories. Air pollution - a good deal of it from coal-fired power plants - puts mercury into the bay and the bay's food chain. And nitrates from fertilizers and the use of manure can pollute well water.

 

The health problems resulting from all of these threats are still rare. But the trends are worrisome.

 

Responding to the report, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of the Environment noted - correctly - that the document doesn't say anything about what individuals can do to reduce water quality problems, including replacing failing septic systems, cleaning up after pets, and using marina pumping stations (instead of illegally dumping waste in the bay).

 

But the problems need further government action - and the report's final recommendations make it obvious that the CBF is pinning its hopes on stronger action from the federal Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama administration.

 

It's easy to say - and true - that bathing in the bay and its tributaries poses no serious hazards if proper caution is used. But as there are more blood-curdling reports of illnesses and infections, how many people will take those precautions - and how many will simply give up bathing in the bay and its tributaries altogether? As more shun the bay's waters, what economic impact will it have? And what sort of heritage is that to leave to our children and grandchildren?

 

Copyright 2009 Annapolis Capital.

 

National / International

Restrict those calories for long-term health

 

Tribune Newspapers

By Karen Kaplan

Baltimore Sun

Friday, July 10, 2009

 

For a country in which about 200 million people are overweight or obese, scientists have discouraging news: Even those who maintain a healthy weight probably should be eating less.

 

Evidence has been mounting that the practice of caloric restriction - essentially, going on a permanent diet - greatly reduces the risk of age-related diseases and even postpones death. It has been shown to extend the lives of yeast, worms, flies, spiders, fish, mice and rats.

 

Now, in a study funded by the National Institutes of Health and released today, many of the same benefits have been demonstrated in primates, the best evidence yet that caloric restriction would help people.

 

The findings, published in the journal Science, tracked rhesus monkeys that were on a reduced-calorie regimen for as long as 20 years. The animals' risk of dying from cancer, heart disease and diabetes fell by more than two-thirds.

 

The study comes as some validation to the cadre of Americans who profess to practice caloric restriction in their daily lives. It was also welcomed by scientists who study the biological mechanisms of aging and longevity.

 

"It adds to the evidence piling up that caloric restriction, independent of thinness, is a healthy way to stay alive and healthy longer," said Susan Roberts of the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, who wasn't involved in the study. Fewer "diseases in old age has to be something most everyone wants."

 

Although the regimen sounds grueling, it is hardly a starvation diet, experts said.

 

It typically begins with an assessment to determine how many calories an individual needs to consume to maintain a healthy weight. Then that number is shaved by 10 percent to 30 percent.

 

People on caloric restriction can eat three meals a day. A typical menu includes cereal with fruit and nuts for breakfast, a big salad for lunch and dinner featuring lean meat and reasonable portion sizes. There's also room for a couple of snacks and even a small dessert from time to time.

 

Caloric restriction has produced consistent health benefits for animals.

 

In the new study, scientists tracked 76 adult rhesus monkeys from the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center starting in 1989. Half the animals were fed a typical diet of lab chow, and the rest got a version with a higher concentration of vitamins and minerals to make up for the 30 percent reduction in chow quantity.

 

Over the course of the study, the monkeys that ate the regular diet were three times more likely to die of an age-related disease than their counterparts on caloric restriction. Fourteen deaths in the control group were attributable to age-related diseases, compared with five such deaths among the animals that ate 30 percent fewer calories, according to the study.

 

In all, the monkeys on caloric restriction "appear to be biologically younger than the normally fed animals," the researchers wrote in their report.

 

Scientists aren't sure why eating less slows the aging process, but theories abound.

 

Copyright © 2009, The Baltimore Sun.

 

Dry milk might keep for a while, but so might salmonella

 

By Tami Dennis

Baltimore Sun

Friday, July 10, 2009

 

The recalls are dwarfed by those recent, and now almost infamous, ones prompted by the Peanut Corp. of America. But they're starting to add up. Plainview Milk Products Cooperative of Plainview, Minn., has started another recall with ripple effects, this one of nonfat dried milk, whey protein and thickening agents sold over the last two years.

 

The reason? Possible salmonella contamination.

 

No illnesses have been linked to any of the products, which aren't sold directly to consumers but to companies with which the cooperative does business.

 

But because dry milk lasts a while, one of its main selling points after all, some could conceivably be in your cabinet.

 

Here's the news release from the company and the announcement on the FDA's website.

 

Bought any Turkey Gravy Mix from Gold Medal?

 

Popcorn Seasoning Movie Theater Butter Flavored from Kroger?

 

Hearty Traditions Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal from Malt-O-Meal?

 

International Drinking Cocoa, Madagascar Vanilla, from Land O Lakes?

 

Nonfat dry milk products sold by Meijer and Giant, among others?

 

Or one of many products offered by Max Muscle Sports Nutrition?

 

It might be on the list. Even if not, you might want to check back. The number of products seems to be growing -- as such lists do.

 

Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun.

 

As for E. coli in cookie dough, that's still a puzzler

 

By Tami Dennis

Baltimore Sun

Friday, July 10, 2009

 

Dough The strain of bacterium found recently at a Nestle's plant in Virginia is not actually the same as the strain blamed for an outbreak of illnesses in 30 states.

 

The FDA made the announcement today, and production at the plant is reportedly ramping back up. Here's a new AP story and a slightly fuller one from ABC News, the second of which brings a third strain of E. coli into the picture.

 

And perhaps more relevant considering the scarcity of facts, the list of recalled products, the Food and Drug Administration's basic page on the topic, plus one from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

But if you're wondering how the investigators ended up pointing the finger at cookie dough in the first place, here's an informative blog post from a CDC officer investigating this outbreak. She writes: "There are no short cuts. We talk to the patients, we look at the combined information, and we generate hypotheses about the cause. Then we can refine our questions and go back to the patients again to see which hypothesis holds true."

 

And, as a bonus, here's Michael Jacobson, executive director of the nutrition watchdog Center for Science in the Public Interest, expressing outrage over Nestle's alleged recalcitrance in cooperating with the FDA during inspections at the plant in question.

 

And in other food safety news this week: "Administration moves to bolster food safety net."

 

None of which explains the source of the E. coli blamed in the outbreak.

 

Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun.

 

Multiple Bacteria Suspected in Tainted Cookie Dough

 

By Lyndsey Layton

Washington Post

Friday, July 10, 2009

 

Federal and state investigators found two different strains of E. coli bacteria in samples of recalled Nestlé Toll House cookie dough, and neither matches the type that has caused a national outbreak of illness, suggesting that the product may have been contaminated by multiple kinds of bacteria.

 

The Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that laboratory analysis of E. coli O157 found in a sample of cookie dough at Nestlé's Danville, Va., plant did not match the strain that is believed to have sickened 72 people in Maryland, Virginia and 28 other states.

 

The state of Minnesota reported that preliminary tests of a package of Nestlé cookie dough taken from a household where two people were sickened by E. coli O157 showed the product was contaminated with a third deadly strain of bacterium, E. coli O124.

 

Meanwhile, federal officials said yesterday that they were finishing their probe of Nestlé's Danville plant, which involved more than 1,000 microbiological tests. They remained stumped. "I think it probably is going to remain a mystery," said David Acheson, assistant commissioner for food safety at the FDA.

 

Of those sickened, 34 have been hospitalized. None has died.

 

Investigators did not find E. coli inside the Danville plant, on equipment, in raw ingredients or in additional samples of cookie dough, Acheson said.

 

E. coli O157 lives in the intestines of cows, sheep and other animals and is most often associated with ground beef. None of the ingredients in cookie dough -- eggs, milk, flour, chocolate, butter -- is known to host the bacterium.

 

Nestlé voluntarily recalled 30,000 cases of its refrigerated cookie dough on June 19 after officials at the FDA and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suspected that dozens of cases of E. coli-related illness were linked to the product.

 

Nestlé, which temporarily shut down its plant and dismantled its equipment, tentatively began producing cookie dough on Tuesday, after finding new suppliers for flour, eggs and margarine, a spokeswoman said.

 

Copyright 2009 Washington Post.

 

Sleeping with the Enemy (Bed Bugs)

 

Patient Money

By Walecia Konrad

New York Times

Friday, July 10, 2009

 

After virtually disappearing for decades, bed bugs have made a comeback throughout the nation, with particularly bad infestations in Manhattan and central Brooklyn where densely populated apartment buildings are conducive to the critters.

 

Much has been written about the reasons for the resurgence, which include the banning of strong pesticides like DDT and the increase in international travel. The insects have become so prevalent that in April the Environmental Protection Agency held a National Bed Bug Summit, convening academics, government officials and pest control professionals to brainstorm better ways to battle bed bugs.

 

While in most cases an infestation is more a skin-crawling nuisance than serious health problem, in some people severe reactions to bed bug bites can include asthma, generalized hives and even a life-threatening allergy attack that requires emergency treatment.

 

But one aspect of the onslaught often gets overlooked: bed bugs are extremely expensive to banish.

 

It’s not unusual for the typical afflicted family to spend $5,000 or more on inspections, exterminator fees, cleaning and storage, according to Jody L. Gangloff-Kaufmann, an urban entomologist with the New York State Integrated Pest Management program at Cornell University.

 

And that doesn’t count the cost of furniture, clothing and other household items that panicked victims throw out in an effort to live bug-free. Landlords of large apartment buildings have been known to spend as much as $80,000 to get rid of the pests, Ms. Gangloff-Kaufmann said.

 

Unfortunately, getting rid of bed bugs is a long and tedious process. The insects, which are about the size of an apple seed and resemble ticks, are hard to detect and even harder to kill. The most successful efforts include a combination of a thorough cleaning and sorting, along with repeated professional applications of pesticides and other bed bug treatments.

 

But the boom in the bed bug population has also bred an increase in scams aimed at panicky homeowners and apartment dwellers who can’t stand the thought of sleeping with the enemy one more night. Fraudulent exterminators may peddle money-wasting treatments that do not work.

 

What’s more, even qualified and reputable exterminators charge a wide range in prices and offer a variety of services. So it can be hard to know what’s worth the money and what’s hype.

 

Here then is some calm advice from experts on what you can expect to spend and what you should - and shouldn’t - pay for.

 

IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM Simply determining whether you have bed bugs can cost you money.

 

Small and nocturnal, the insects are hard to spot. They love to hide in mattresses and box springs, of course, but they also burrow in woodwork, night tables, picture frames, cushions and even behind outlet and light-switch covers. They come out only to feed on sleeping humans.

 

The most common way people discover they have bed bugs is when they wake up with bites. But only about a third of people react to bed bug bites, and many of those who do have reactions mistake them for mosquito bites. You may also get the same kind of bites from spider beetles or bird mites, says Gil Bloom, who is vice president of Standard Pest Management, an exterminating company in Queens, and director of public affairs for the New York State Pest Management Association.

 

You can sometimes detect other evidence like bed bug feces, which look like tiny black specks, or blood stains from a bug that has just had a full meal.

 

If you suspect bed bugs, you’ll probably need a visual inspection from an exterminator to make sure. Many pest control companies do this free, hoping that if you have the bugs, you’ll hire them to do removal. Other companies may charge $50 to $200 to do a visual inspection.

 

Some companies use specially trained dogs that can sniff out bed bugs and their eggs. Well-trained dogs can be amazingly accurate, letting you know exactly where the bugs are so you can concentrate your efforts in those problem areas, says Jennifer Erdogan of Bell Environmental Services, a pest control company in Parsipanny, N.J., that uses two trained dogs, including Roscoe, a bug-sniffing beagle.

 

But the dogs’ services are expensive. You’ll pay $300 to $600 for a home inspection. If you go this route, ask about the dog’s credentials. You want to hear that the animal was trained at a certified facility that prepares dogs for jobs that include bomb and drug sniffing. Also ask how the dog is handled. The best dogs have individual trainers who take them on inspections and do specific exercises with them each day to keep their skills sharp.

 

FINDING AN EXTERMINATOR In New York City, you need only to ride the subway to see the ads and handbills for companies promising to rid you of your bed bug problem. But, counterintuitive as it may sound, you probably want to steer clear of pest control companies that emphasize their bed bug expertise.

 

In some cases these are one-person outfits or unqualified shops that have popped up in response to the epidemic. Ms. Gangloff-Kaufmann advises finding an established company that has been in business at least five years and routinely battles all types of pests, including bed bugs.

 

Exterminators charge $250 to $900 a room to get rid of bed bugs, depending on the level of infestation and the types of treatments used. Some companies may charge by the bed if there are multiple people sleeping in the same room. Most exterminators use a combination of pesticides and steam heat.

 

Exposure to high temperatures is the only sure way to kill bed bugs, Ms. Gangloff-Kaufmann says. Some companies have started using Cryonite, a freezing agent that kills bed bugs on contact. But Cryonite, she says, can add considerably to the cost of an exterminator visit and isn’t 100 percent effective against bed bugs.

 

Whatever an exterminator uses, it must directly contact a bed bug to kill it. Pesticides have no residual effect on bed bugs. Unlike roaches, for example, they don’t ingest the poison and die later. That’s why you or your exterminator should never use bug bombs or foggers, which are completely ineffective with bed bugs.

 

Be sure your exterminator makes at least one follow-up visit. It’s virtually impossible to kill all the bugs in a given area with one treatment. Most exterminators come back at least once and sometimes as many as three or four times, depending on the infestation. Ask if any repeat treatments are included in the price quoted to you. In most cases, you pay the per-room or per-bed rate each time the technician comes to your house.

 

Check to see that both the company you hire and the technician who is coming to your home is licensed in your state. Every state has an agency that regulates the licensing of pesticide applicators. In New York, it is the Department of Environmental Conservation, which lists all licensed pest control companies and technicians. To find the agency in your state, check with the National Pesticide Information Center’s Web site, http://npic.orst.edu/state1.htm.

 

Also check for any complaints filed against the exterminators you are considering at the Better Business Bureau.

 

ENCASE YOUR MATTRESS This is one piece of advice all bed bug experts agree on. You must encase your mattress and box spring with a durable, leak-proof cover that will trap existing bugs inside the bedding and prevent new bugs from entering. (Residents in highly infested areas who don’t currently suspect bed bugs in their own homes may want to encase their mattresses as a preventative measure.) Because bed bugs can live for as long as 10 months without a meal, experts recommend you keep the mattress and box spring cover on for at least a year to make sure the bugs die.

 

The best covers are made from tightly woven cloth and have enclosed zippers and zipper locks to ensure there are no openings anywhere on the covering. A good cover will cost anywhere from $ 70 to $150, depending on the size of your bed. You can get vinyl covers for as little as $50, but don’t bother. Vinyl is uncomfortable to sleep on and is likely to crack and tear over time.

 

BEFORE YOU TOSS ... Many people’s first response when faced with bed bugs is to throw stuff out. But replacing contaminated furniture, clothes and other possessions can be one of the biggest unnecessary expenses associated with bed bugs.

 

While reducing clutter is always a good idea - the fewer hiding places, the easier it is to detect a bed bug problem early on - there’s an easy way to salvage many of your belongings.

 

“Nothing kills bed bugs and their eggs better than high temperatures,” said Mr. Bloom, “so the drier is your new best friend.” Bedding, clothes, stuffed animals, backpacks and anything else you can fit into the drier can be decontaminated by 20 minutes on the high setting. Carry the items to the drier in a cloth laundry bag that you can throw into the machine. If you use a plastic bag, discard it immediately. Do not put the dried items back in the same bag where bed bugs could be lurking.

 

For items in or near contaminated areas that can’t go in the drier, like books, consider packing them in plastic bins or bags and storing them for a year to make sure any hidden insects die. If you don’t have space in your home, you may need to pay for storage. But this can still be considerably cheaper than replacing these belongings.

 

Finally for furniture and other large items, you may want to consider a professional fumigation service that will decontaminate the items away from your home and return them within a week or so. This can easily add $1,000 to your bed bug bill. But for antiques, heirlooms and other hard-to-replace items, it may well be worth the cost.

 

Copyright 2009 New York Times.

 

Opinion

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