A study published recently in the journal Cancer Research said:

Age-specific cancer mortality rates have been steadily declining in the United States since the early 1950s, beginning with children and young adults and now including all age groups. During the second half of the 20th century, each successive decade of births from 1925 to 1995 experienced a lower risk of cancer death than its predecessor at virtually every age for which such a comparison can be made. A major decline in cancer mortality has been occurring in the United States for the past 50 years, affecting birth cohorts born as long as 80 years ago.

There are many reasons that could be attributed to this decline in death, ranging from efforts towards cancer prevention, advances in cancer detection, and better cancer treatments.

For example, certain childhood cancers, such as leukemia or bone cancer, did not have a good survival rate in the mid-1900s, yet now, there are many adults who are childhood cancer survivors.

Colonoscopies have been able to detect many precancerous lesions, thereby avoiding the development of colon cancer. And, when colon cancer is discovered, the increasing number of screening colonoscopies is detecting the cancers early, when there still is a high chance of total recovery.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we’re close to being free of the disease. Cancer is still the number two killer, after heart disease, says the World Health Organization.

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Image: StockXchng.com

Post from: Blisstree

U.S. Cancer Deaths Dropping

Here is some information that may help you learn more about pandemics, viruses, etc.

What’s the difference between a pandemic and an epidemic?

An epidemic is something that can happen anywhere, any time with just about any type of contagious situation. Last year, there were some epidemics of mumps in some universities, a few years ago, there were epidemics of meningitis. There can even be epidemics of lice or scabies. An epidemic is an outbreak of an illness that affects many people at the same time in one or more localized areas .

A pandemic, on the other hand, is the outbreak of an illness that has spread over a wide area across the world, generally affecting several continents. A pandemic isn’t only for influenza, but can be for any contagious illness, such as malaria or tuberculosis.

How long can influenza viruses stay alive?

According to the standard information we have, the virus stays alive on your hands for about five minutes. It can stay alive on your clothing for up to 12 hours and it can exist on objects for up to 48 hours.

How do infections like influenza get transmitted?

There are five ways infections can be transmitted:

1. Skin to skin contact (scabies, for example)
2. Droplet (cold viruses coughed into the air and breathed in)
3. Airborne (much tinier viruses that hang around in the air, like H1N1 virus)
4. Common (an contagious person drinks from a water bottle, you drink from it moments later)
5. Insects (malaria, for example)

How can we protect ourselves from infections like influenza?

It can’t be stressed enough: handwashing – and proper handwashing, not just rinsing your hands under the water. Here is a site that has a good video showing how to wash your hands with either soap and water or sanitizer .

Handwashing breaks the infection chain . A pathogen (virus, bacteria, fungus) needs to be able to spread. Once it’s spread, it has to have a good host (good living conditions) to flourish. If we stop it from spreading, then it can’t get any further.

What’s the point of calling a pandemic if it’s not severe?

The pandemic rating from the World Health Organization doesn’t rate the severity of an illness. It rates how far it has spread and how easily it is contracted. Whether it’s a severe influenza as what happened in 1918 or H1N1, it’s still a pandemic.

Are they doing this to scare us?

No, the World Health Organization has a mandate to survey the world for illnesses, especially new ones or old ones that are spreading more than usual. They are responsible for coordinating world response to these illnesses, to limit the spread or severity of impact. At the same time, they can’t act in secret. If they know there’s a pandemic and they don’t say anything, it could end up causing even more problems in the long run. Plus, the public deserves to know what is going on.

Why don’t they suspend travel?

The world is a big place, yet it’s also a very small one. We are now co-dependent for our economies. If world trade, travel, transport of goods were to be stopped, an already precarious economy would come to a crashing halt. If the economy were to be badly affected, then when people get sick, they won’t have the means to care for themselves as they won’t have money to get medical help or buy supplies.

Why was everyone so sure there would be a pandemic? After all, look at the SARS epidemic, it didn’t become global.

The world learned a lot from SARS, about what worked and what didn’t. As sad as the outcome was for those who died, it was an invaluable learning experience, as most emergencies tend to be.

The experts were sure that a pandemic was coming because that is the cycle of life. Every so many years, a pandemic circles the globe. It doesn’t have to be severe, but it does spread.

So, how long will this last?

A pandemic isn’t a short-term period of a few weeks. Although it can’t be pinpointed, a pandemic such as this will last as long as it takes the virus to run its course or we find a way to stop it.

Speaking of stopping it, what’s taking so long to get a vaccine?

First, the scientists had to pinpoint the genetic structure of the virus. Then, they need to work on developing the vaccine, which takes time. After that, they still need time to produce the vaccine – this is all quite time consuming.

But if I get the fall flu vaccine, I’m covered, right?

Wrong. The seasonal flu, the one that goes around every year and for which you get a new flu vaccine, isn’t the same thing as the H1N1 virus vaccine. Two separate things.

So then I don’t need to get the flu shot this fall then if I’m getting the H1N1 vaccine?

Wrong again. They’re two different things. It looks like the H1N1 may be milder than the seasonal flu, but they’re not sure yet what it will be like in the fall. At the same time, the seasonal flu still kills thousands of people across the world because of its effects. If you’ve been taking the annual flu vaccine and/or your doctor recommends you do, you would be best to continue to do so.

What about stocking up on antiviral medications – if I take them then I won’t get sick, right?

Antiviral medications, like Tamiflu, are NOT to be taken if you don’t have influenza. Antiviral medications are not to prevent illness. They only work if you actually have the virus. If you take the antiviral before you have the illness, you run the risk of contributing to viruses mutating and becoming resistant to the antivirals, you help deplete the stock, keeping it from those who really do need it.

Will it be as bad as 1918?

It’s highly unlikely we would get hit with a pandemic like the one that hit early in the last century. We’ve had two others (the Hong Kong flu and the Asian flu), which weren’t as severe either.

We have to remember that we’ve come a long way since 1918. We know more about hygiene. We know how illnesses are spread. With our communications ability, word spreads faster than the virus, alerting people of new issues. We also have better medical care and better surveillance systems.

So, with all this doom and gloom, I might as well stay home, close the blinds and protect myself.

No, you don’t have to do that. Just be careful. Follow the hygiene etiquette of sneezing or coughing into your elbow. If you’re sick, stay home from work or school (and don’t go shopping, to the bank, etc!). Wash your hands. Wash your hands. Wash your hands.

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Images: Marijke Durning, Stock.xchng, iStock, MorgueFile.com

Post from: Blisstree

Pandemic 101 – a Primer

Here you can see a map of the spread of the virus , and here are the statistics of the various countries that have reported cases so far.

So far, 69 countries have officially reported 21,940 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 125 deaths.

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Image: Stock.xchng

Post from: Blisstree

Emergency WHO Meeting: H1N1 Virus

An advisory group meets May 14th, however, before drug makers will be given the go-ahead to producing a swine flu vaccine. Part of this decision rests in the manufacturers and when they will be ready to make the new virus, officially known as A/H1N1. In just a couple short weeks, the virus has spread to countries including the United States. However, WHO wants to make certain the vaccine for “regular” flu is readily available before any new strains are created.

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

WHO Says Two Flu Shots Are Necessary

According to the World Health Organization :

Approximately half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria, particularly those living in lower-income countries. It infects more than 500 million people per year and kills more than 1 million. The burden of malaria is heaviest in sub-Saharan Africa but the disease also afflicts Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and even parts of Europe.

Why does this affect us? Because we may go visit these countries, people may come from these areas, and because fellow humans are dying from what is often a preventable disease.

If you go to RollBackMalaria.org, you can see a map of the world that outlines which countries have no malaria, which ones are eliminating it, which are starting to get it under control, and which are still experiencing thousands of deaths.

How to control it:

Bed nets are one of the least expensive and easiest ways to control the spread of malaria. One bed net that can protect the sleeper or sleepers is just a few dollars to us in North America. Many schools and community groups are now fund raising to be able to pay for these bed nets.

After bed nets, spraying is helpful and – of course – medications.

According to RollBackMalaria.org :

The following interventions need to be delivered worldwide by 2010:

• More than 700 million insecticide-treated bednets – half of those in Africa
• More than 200 million of doses of effective treatment
• Indoor spraying for around 200 million homes annually
• Approximately 1.5 billion diagnostic tests annually

What it will cost

• In 2009, roughly $5.3 billion will be needed for malaria control worldwide
• In 2010, $6.2 billion will be needed
• From 2011 to 2020, roughly $5 billion per year will be need to sustain the gains of control measures.
• In addition, about $1 billion per year will be needed for research and development of new prevention and treatment tools

What is malaria?

Malaria is, for the most part, an insect-borne illness, which means that insects – in this case mosquitoes – spread parasites (Plasmodium ) from person to person. If we get rid of these mosquitoes or find ways to keep them from biting, the disease cannot be passed on. Very rarely, malaria may be contracted by infected blood, shared needle use, or passed from an infected mother to her unborn child.

Symptoms :

The symptoms may be vague at first, so if you’re traveling to an area that has malaria, if you’re not feeling well, it’s best to be checked as soon as possible. The symptoms include:

• headache
• nausea
• vomiting
• muscle pain
• severe shakes or muscle spasms
• chills

If the infection is acute, your liver may become tender and your spleen become enlarged often occur.

One type of malaria caused by P. falciparum infection affects the brain. If this happens, you could see:

• personality change
• confusion
• lethargy
• seizures

This particular type of malaria is the most serious and can cause seizures, coma, kidney failure and respiratory failure, which can lead to death.

Statistics from the WHO :

• Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
• A child dies of malaria every 30 seconds.
• There were 247 million cases of malaria in 2006, causing nearly one million deaths, mostly among African children.
• Malaria is preventable and curable.
• Approximately half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria, particularly those living in lower-income countries.
• Travellers from malaria-free areas to disease “hot spots” are especially vulnerable to the disease.
• Malaria takes an economic toll – cutting economic growth rates by as much as 1.3% in countries with high disease rates.

Post from: Blisstree

World Malaria Day: April 25, 2009

Enjoy!

This week at Mental Health Notes, I praised Britney Spears and Kellie Pickler, pointed you in the direction of Ingrid Newkirk’s video about One Can Make a Difference, gushed on and on about why I love being a mental health blogger, and participated in Blog Action Day 2008.

Regarding mental health advocacy, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance has posted DBSA e-Update October 2008 (lots of good stuff in there!) and the new Mrs. United States, Dr. Gariane Gunter, is dedicating her reign to raising public awareness of mental illness.

In the world of mental health news, the World Health Organization is warning that our global financial crisis may increase mental health problems (that’s a real no-brainer), Governor Timothy M. Kaine (of Virginia, and, is it just me or do I mention him a lot?) wants to cut $86.6 million from mental health, health, and human resources agencies, and WSJ’s Health Blog reports depression is one of the top reasons for missing work (and Gov. Kaine wants to cut funding?).

Here at b5media’s Health & Wellness Channel, October’s theme day was just one of the things we were busy with!

• Mary Emma Allen featured one of my comments about nursing homes in The Positive Side of Nursing Homes for Alzheimer’s Patients.
• Kristen King of Lively Women is holding a contest to win – you’re not gonna believe this – an Epson WorkForce 600 All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer! Actually, she has TWO, so your odds of winning just increased. The deadline is October 20, 2008 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET (that’s tonight, folks!). (Kristen also has an interview with Leslie Haywood up. Leslie is the creator of Grill Charms and has just released The Pink Collection which will help raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
• Mark made a good point about God and his non-puppeteerism (not a word, I know, forgive me) at A Dozen Steps.
• Kristina Chew started a discussion about legislation dealing with insurance coverage for autism treatment at Autism Vox.
• Angelique wants to know how much time you dedicate to self-loathing.
• At Eating Fabulous, Ruth Schaffer talked about using St. John’s Wort as an antidepressant.
• At Healthbolt, Liz Lewis has a round up of contests for your perusal.
• Grace Ibay has listed five tips for taking stock of your medicine cabinet.

Image: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Monday Sanity: Better Late Than Never