Results tagged “health”

President Obama officially declared swine flu a national emergency. He signed a proclamation which, according to a White House announcement, "enhances the ability of our nation's medical treatment facilities to handle a surge in H1N1 patients by allowing, as needed, the waiver of certain standard federal requirements on a case-by-case basis."

The city's health department announced there is a mumps outbreak in Brooklyn, with at least 57 "confirmed or probable cases." How? Well, the Daily News reports, "The outbreak was traced to a child who went to Britain - where the illness is more common because of lower levels of vaccination - and then attended a summer camp upstate, apparently infecting dozens of kids."

With various federal, state and local officials worried about the spread of swine and seasonal flu, six NYC public schools are participating in a pilot program offering the seasonal flu vaccines to students this week. One mother, though, was wary, telling WCBS 2, "As of right now, I haven't given my parental consent. I don't know what batch it is. I don't know the criteria for it." For now, she's reminded her kids to wash their hands often.

If the outer boroughs aren't willing to come into the city for their Whole Foods, then the city is making sure it finds a way to get Whole Foods into the outer boroughs. Yesterday the City Planning Commission approved a plan to encourage grocery stores with fresh produce, meats and dairy to expand into poorer areas by allowing them to sidestep existing zoning and development regulations. Supporters of the plan say it would encourage gentrification to continue its sweep across the boroughs.

Sure, you use your Snuggie to go bar hopping, fornicate comfortably, and walk the runway, but the Snuggie's most valuable purpose has yet to be fully explored... until now! Take it away, press release: "What if you could burn 600 calories in 15 minutes… in a Snuggie? That’s what the latest medi-spa treatment is promising using Far Infrared Ray technology. The 'Snuggie Sauna' (official name: Relax Far Infrared Ray Sauna) improves blood circulation, promotes lymphatic drainage and cellular renewal, increases metabolism, burns calories without lactic acid production, promotes better sleep and detoxifies the body from heavy metals, including mercury and cadmium—all in 15-20 minutes."

Today the Mayor and New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley announced a three-year health policy called Take Care New York 2012, targeting 10 leading causes of preventable sickness and death, including lung cancer, heart disease and HIV. And in a preliminary interview with the Times, Farley emphasized that sedentary New Yorkers in the boroughs need to start pulling their weight, because they're currently fatter and less active than their sleek Manhattan neighbors: "In Manhattan, most people are going to be walking. Throughout the other boroughs, they are going to be driving." Farley lives in Brooklyn and exercises regularly, and since replacing Dr. Thomas Frieden as commissioner, he's been busy warning New Yorkers about the fatty evils of soda, while also trying to make the city more exercise-friendly. He says his agenda "includes what organizations can do, what we can do as a society" and is "less focused on the health care system." So the plan announced today identifies 10 steps New Yorkers should take, like "Have a Healthy Baby," "Know Your HIV Status," and "Live Free of Dependence on Alcohol and Drugs." ("Drink Diet Soda" isn't one of them.)

Amid concerns that the H1N1/ swine flu vaccine might miss the peak, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told This Week With George Stephanopoulos that the vaccine will be available in the first week of October, two weeks earlier than previously thought. She said, "We are on track to have an ample supply rolling out by mid October, but we may have some early vaccine as early as the first full week in October. And we plan to get the vaccine rolling out the door as fast as it hits the production line. The earlier doses are probably going to be targeted to health care workers and other high priority groups, but the one dose means that people will be able to have a robust response in about 10- days of getting that first shot and that’s incredibly helpful." The other high-priority groups are pregnant women, people between 6 months and 24 years, people between 25-64 years with higher risk medical conditions, and caregivers of children under 6 months. Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services found that one dose of the vaccine seems effective (versus needing to give two doses), which means "vaccine supplies now being made will go twice as far as had been predicted."

Here's today's swine flu news: The World Health Organization expects an "explosion" of swine flu cases this fall. According to the WHO's Western Pacific director, Shin Young-soo, many countries will see the number of cases double every few days for several months—"It is certain there will be more cases and more deaths"—but the countries at greatest risk are the developing nations which are under-equipped to respond. Also, the Chilean health ministry says that swine flu was found in turkeys: "Authorities ordered a complete quarantine Friday and alerted the World Health Organization. Some illness was suspected at the farms owned by the Sopraval company after egg production dropped this month." (However, Chile's deputy health minister says turkeys are still safe to eat.) And in America, the CDC is recommending that businesses and employers develop plans on how to deal with swine flu, including suggestions like keep sick employees home and don't require doctor's notes.

After news that Manhattan is—relative to the rest of the NYC—the thinnest borough, with just 42% of its residents overweight, a NY Times reporter stalked the svelte, why. One Upper East Sider said, "My mom always says, 'The smaller the dress size, the larger the apartment,'" while a painter, "attributed his slim frame (5-foot-11, 160 pounds) to a combination of healthy and unhealthy habits: daily two-mile walks, weekly soccer, and breakfasts of coffee and cigarettes." Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys, seen leaving the gym, said, "Our closets are filled all these expensive clothes that are like swords of Damocles, because we may not fit into them anymore." He also added he wasn't "fatist" but, referring perhaps to some in middle America, "I’m appalled by people my age who can’t get through the airport without a wheelchair.

Yesterday, while announcing a plan to ban trans-fats in schools, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand released a report noting that almost 60% of New Yorkers are overweight or obese. And, in the five boroughs, 55% of the population is overweight or obese! You can read the study (PDF), but here's a breakdown: In the Bronx, 62.7% of residents (586,419) are overweight or obese; in Brooklyn, it's 58.6% (1,056,457 residents); Manhattan: 42.3% (541,135); Queens: 57.6% (990,809); and Staten Island: 57.7% (190,681). CityRoom spoke to epidemiologist Andrew G. Rundle who "said that at the neighborhood level socioeconomic and demographic factors were the strongest predictors of obesity rates"—wealthy neighborhoods have lower rates of obesity while poorer neighborhoods have higher ones. "[Rundle] has found that even when adjusting for poverty and race, at least three factors are associated with lowering obesity: proximity to supermarkets and groceries where fresh produce is sold; proximity to parks; and access to public transportation, which reduces reliance on cars."

Is your femoral cutaneous nerve feeling tingly? Is the side of your thigh numb? Are you wearing skinny jeans? Incase you weren't scaremongered enough by the Wall Street Journal piece, Dr. Jennifer Ashton stopped by the CBS Early Show to make "fashion victim" jokes and warn of the health concerns over skinny jeans that are too tight on the legs and groin.

A new report [pdf] from the NYC Health Department and Department of Education finds that physically fit students tend to outscore their less-fit peers on academic tests. During the 2007-2008 school year, students who scored in the top 5% on their fitness tests outscored the bottom 5% by an average of 36 percentile points on standardized academic tests. But it's also possible overweight kids score poorly on those tests because bullies are constantly kicking the backs of their chairs. The new report further examines childhood obesity in NYC and finds that 21% of kindergarten through eighth grade students are obese, and nearly 40% of all students are overweight or obese. In a statement, NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said, "When four out of 10 school kids are overweight or obese, the city has a problem." Part of that problem is that 14% of middle- and high-school students hadn't even been offered a physical-education class this school year, according to a recent survey cited by the Post.

Swine flu is now officially a pandemic, according to the World Health Organization. That's the highest alert level the WHO gives to contagious diseases and the first pandemic declared in 41 years. The raised alert level comes as the city's Health Department confirms today three more deaths due to the H1N1 virus and released estimates yesterday that show 550,000 people could be infected. But, while WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters the declaration "doesn't mean anything concerning severity, it is concerning geographic spread," some scientists are painting a graver picture. Said Cambridge University flu virologist Chris Smith to CBS News: "The writing has been on the wall for weeks...WHO probably doesn't want people to panic, but the virus is now unstoppable."

The Health Department announced that it "has linked three additional New York City deaths to H1N1 flu, bringing the total number to 12. The 3 newly reported decedents include one person aged 30-39, one aged 50-59, and one over 65." This brings the total of fatal cases to 12. The Health Dept. also added, "While most of New York City’s H1N1 flu deaths have involved people with established risk factors for flu complications, influenza is sometimes fatal in otherwise-healthy people." So far, they are 820 confirmed cases of swine flu and 530 hospitalizations.

As four schools are reopening today after large numbers of students (and teacher) have come down with swine flu-like symptoms, six more schools—four in Queens, two in Brooklyn—are closing. The Department of Education has finally put a list of closed schools as well as open schools with their attendance rates online— the third letter in the code represents the borough (M for Manhattan, X for the Bronx, K for Brooklyn, Q for Queens and R for Staten Island). For instance, Louis Brandeis High School in Manhattan has an attendance rate of 64% and Richmond Hill High School in Queens has one of 65%.

Yesterday's announcement that three schools in Queens would be closed today and next week because of the high number of flu-like symptoms from students has raised concerns from parents about the H1N1—aka swine flu—infection all over again. One parent told the Post, "We thought this whole thing was over," and her 10-year-old son added that he was "scared -- because I don't want to see any of my friends get sick."

Yes, there's still swine flu/H1N1 infection going around—yesterday, State Health Commissioner Richard Daines reported that the state's total is now at 214: With three new cases in NYC and three new cases outside (all in Westchester), the breakdown is 167 cases in NYC and 47 in the rest of the state. If you're really curious about where the cases are by county, here's a PDF. The NYC Health Department emphasizes, "To date, nearly all confirmed and probable cases have been mild, and all of the affected people have recovered or are recovering. No deaths have been associated with the illness in New York City," and adds that everyone should practice good hygiene (cover your sneezes! wash your hands!). Globally, the WHO says "33 countries have officially reported 6497 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection," with a total of 65 deaths (60 in Mexico, three in the U.S., one in Canada and one in Costa Rica).

St. Francis Prep, the private school in Queens where many students came down with the swine flu, will reopen on Monday. A group of students had gone to Mexico for spring break and, in turn, infected some of their classmates. NY1 reports that most of the students have recovered or are "close to it"—and the school says its air system has been purified.

WCBS 2 reports that an employee at Ernst & Young's Times Square office has swine flu. However, Ernst & Young does not believe anyone in the office was exposed; here's the company's statement: "An employee in our offices at 5 Times Square was diagnosed on Sunday with swine flu, which she contracted from a family member. The individual had not been in offices since last Thursday. According to the Center for Disease Control, the disease has a 24-hour incubation period. Given the timeframe, we believe that it is unlikely that any other of our people have been infected." Still, the company says it has followed CDC procedures, "including closing the offices on the floor where she worked and retaining a skilled sanitation service to clean the area" and are allowing employees "to work from home if they would be more comfortable doing so." Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg said there were 28 confirmed cases of swine flu; there are also five probable cases of swine flu in NJ. Here's the CDC's website "Swine Flu And You" and NYC's Health Dept. also has a brochure (PDF).

Researchers from Columbia University and Berkeley say they've proven that children attending schools near fast-food restaurants have higher-than-average obesity rates. Using data gathered from 1,047 California high schools over the course of eight years, the report [PDF] concludes that among 9th grade children, a fast food restaurant within a tenth of a mile of a school is associated with at least a 5.2 percent increase in obesity rates.

After saying last week that they were encouraged by their sister's progress, today the brothers of chimp mauling victim Charla Nash further discussed how she's doing on the Today show. Steve Nash said, "The psychiatrist says she understands a lot about her injuries, but she’s not interested at this time to find out how they occurred... We’re positive all the time we’re with her.... telling her she’s in the best place in the world to help with her injuries, and that she had an accident and we’re going to take care of her." Nash, who lost her nose, lips, eyelids, hands and bone structure in her mid-face, is at the Cleveland Clinic; Steve is staying in Cleveland while her twin Mike is in Connecticut, taking care of her 17-year-old daughter. Mike said, "She’s got to know that we’re still here for her and there are still a lot of reasons to keep hope there, tell her that that she has a daughter and a future and she needs to be part of it." The Cleveland Clinic says she "has made significant neurological and psychological improvement" but "Full cognitive recovery could take up to a year" and many surgeries are planned.

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation announced it would eliminate 400 jobs as a way to save $105 million for the next fiscal year's budget. NY1 reports that HHC, which serves 1.3 million New Yorkers, is also closing "four school-based health programs, three community clinics, and two mental health day treatment programs." HHC President Alan D. Aviles said the cuts were in part due to labor and the rising number of uninsured patients the hospitals see (450,000/year) and said more cuts could be on the way, saying this was just "one-third" of the problem. State Health Commissioner Richard Daines tells the NY Times that the governor is trying to negotiate using federal stimulus money to help aid HHC, but, noting "unprecedented fiscal crisis" made some difficult choices necessary, said he hoped public hospitals would delay capital construction project instead cutting service. Some other HHC annual stats: It has 7,510 beds, 4,942,9377 clinic visits, 1,069,031 ER visits and 23,384 births.

Yesterday Mayor Bloomberg and NYC Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden announced that New Yorkers are making progress in meeting seven out of 10 public health goals set in 2004 as part of the mayor's "Take Care New York" comma-phobic health policy. By 2007, the most recent year on record, New Yorkers had surpassed 2008 targets within four of the program's priority areas: colon cancer screening, regular access to primary health care, tobacco smoking, and intimate partner homicide. High-five? According to surveys, 300,000 fewer adult New Yorkers smoke than in 2002, there were 598 fewer deaths from HIV, and 319 fewer children developed lead poisoning. Because of the improvements, the city's life expectancy has also grown by a year and three months since 2001. New Yorkers born in 2006 can now expect to live an average of 79 years, but not long enough to see the Knicks make the playoffs.

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene says, according to its data, that the flu has arrived in the Big Apple—and urges New Yorkers to get the flu vaccine. Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden said, “The best way to protect yourself or your loved ones from getting very ill is to get vaccinated. Young children and older adults are at higher risk of hospitalization and death if they get sick. So don’t take the risk - get the vaccine today.” Influenza—which is not just a bad cold— symptoms "include a fever, dry cough and body aches - not a stomach ache or vomiting." Frieden adds, "If you do get influenza, cover your cough and stay home to minimize the spread of disease to others." There's apparently plenty of flu vaccine left; here's info on where you can get a flu shot (uninsured people get them for free). And for those who love stats, here's the CDC's flu surveillance page.

Not shocking: A study from Mount Sinai Medical Center says that September 11 responders who took ill after working at Ground Zero have, according to the AP, "lung problems more than five years later." The researchers, who have been tracking responders' health for years, believe this proves that World Trade Center's collapse and the toxic dust from it caused persistent issues, with about a quarter of respondents having abnormal lung function. Dr. Jacqueline Moline said, "We know people we are following are still sick. It's confirming what we've been seeing clinically." This comes as NY lawmakers are reintroducing the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which would "offer compensation for monetary losses due to illnesses or injuries caused by the attacks at the World Trade Center."

While the 52-member medical team that delivered a California woman's octuplets earlier this week are being hailed for their skills, medical experts are concerned. Nadya Suleman, 33, already had six children when she decided to be implanted, via in vitro fertilization, with frozen embryos left from previous procedures. NYU Fertility Center program director Dr. James Grifo told CBS News, "I know no physician who would put eight embryos in a patient. We don't do that, because of the risks. Our goal as practitioners is to help patients have a healthy offspring. Single pregnancies, where a single baby is born, are the best outcome. And those alone are risky... But we don't start with in-vitro fertilization treatment... I don't know the story, but it does not make sense...Most of us in this situation, a woman under 35, would only put two embryos back... I don't know people putting six embryos back." Speaking to the LA Times, Suleman's mother said her daughter "is not evil, but she is obsessed with children. She loves children, she is very good with children, but obviously she overdid herself."

Kefi, the insanely popular Greek restaurant (photos) with the astonishingly sane prices, was closed yesterday by the Health Department. Chef Michael Psilakis—who has never been slapped with such a serious DOH penalty at his other hit restaurants, which include Anthos and Mia Dona—says the problem had to do with a paperwork oversight, not the usual "rat rodeo" situation that has shuttered other eateries in recent years. The Health Department confirms they closed Kefi after it failed its initial pre-permit inspection:

They were found operating without a permit and a Food Protection Course certificate holder present. Other factors that contributed to the closure included holding several food items at unsafe temperatures and having no hand washing sink in the food preparation area in the basement. In order to reopen, the operator of Kefi must apply for a permit, correct all conditions that led to violations, submit an affidavit of correction to the Health Department and schedule a re-opening inspection.

Note to fabulously good-looking, scrupulously healthy restaurant Rouge Tomate (pictured): the Times's Frank Bruni doesn't appreciate your good intentions. He opines, "In addition to a head chef with obvious talent, it employs a nutritionist, who makes certain that dishes have optimal ratios of meats to vegetables and fruits to nuts and don’t traffic recklessly in calories or the wrong fats...While about a quarter of the dishes are knockouts, at least as many are overly calculated and fastidious, suggesting there’s such a thing as too much balance. The same fruity, nutty, seedy notes pop up too often: during one meal I felt tyrannized by pomegranate, antioxidized to a fare-thee-well."

The Department of Health has issued 682 violations to local restaurants since a new law took effect in April requiring eateries with more than fifteen locations nationwide to prominently display calorie information. Fines range between $200 and $2,000, and McDonald’s has the highest number of violations with 103. (Dunkin Donuts is second with 89.) Some restaurants are still refusing to comply, while others were busted for not posting the info as the law requires. For instance, the calorie stats can't be smaller than the text describing the food. And while the restaurant industry is still appealing the law, at least one consumer has found the information enlightening: Dr. Mary Bassett, deputy commissioner of health promotion, tells Crain's, "I’ve given up tuna fish and chicken salad. Without that information [on the menu], I wouldn’t have guessed, and I’m a medical doctor."

Unsurprisingly, doctors have some concerns over David Blaine, who announced his latest stunt, the "Dive of Death," last month. The idea is simple enough: hang upside down over Wollman Rink for 60 hours; Blaine has already been practicing at a gym and was up to 8 hours at the last check-in. While hanging upside down, in some people's opinions, has its health benefits (Rosie O'Donnell does it to treat depression!), a doctor told The Daily News, "His head is not going to explode, but it could cause some problems with the blood flow to his brain. I wouldn't do it, and I wouldn't counsel anyone else to do it." So far the 35-year-old endurance stuntman hasn't suffered from his practices, but he did note: "This is a lot more difficult than it looks."