Poultry market tests spark flu advisory.

Consumers in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, are being urged to avoid contact with live poultry after tests found that more than 30 percent of live poultry markets in the city were contaminated with the H7N9 avian flu virus, according to Guangzhou's disease control authority. Health experts have called for stricter measures to contain the virus to prevent possible outbreaks. Zhang Zhoubin, deputy director of the Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said surveillance reports in the past week show that the H7N9 virus exists in about 30 percent of the city's farmers markets that sell live poultry. The Guangzhou government had decided to suspend live poultry trade in all markets from Jan 16 to 18, Feb 16 to 18 and March 16 to 18 as a preventive measure to curb bird flu virus.An assessment report shows that the three-day trade halt in January helped reduce all types of bird flu virus at these markets by at least 60 percent.continue

China steps up human H7N9 avian flu prevention.

A number of provinces in China have stepped up efforts to prevent H7N9 avian flu following reports of scattered human cases of the virus. Authorities closed 280 live poultry trading and slaughtering venues in Suining city, southwest China's Sichuan Province, after four human H7N9 cases were reported in the city this year, according to the provincial health authorities. Commerce officials in Suining have enhanced inspections to crack down on unlicensed poultry businesses. The central province of Hubei has set up headquarters for the prevention and control of human H7N9 outbreak, according to the provincial Health and Family Planning Commission. Hubei confirmed 19 human H7N9 cases from Jan.1 to Feb. 9, scattered across several cities. Two patients have been discharged from hospital after recovering. The province has dispatched 16 inspection teams to check on prevention efforts. In Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, all live poultry markets have been suspended. The province has reported 24 H7N9 cases, including five fatalities, this year. Eastern China's Zhejiang Province ordered all markets across the province to halt live poultry trading by 6 p.m. Saturday, over bird flu concerns. Staff with the Zhejiang Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that the province had entered a high season of bird flu outbreak. In January alone, Zhejiang reported 35 infections of the H7N9 strain of bird flu. Contact with live poultry is the major source of infection, particularly in rural areas. H7N9 is a bird flu strain first reported to have infected humans in China in March 2013. It is most likely to strike in winter and spring. Beijing on Saturday reported a human H7N9 case. The patient is a 68-year-old man from Langfang city in neighboring Hebei Province. Liaoning, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, Guangdong and Guizhou provinces have all reported human H7N9 cases this year.source

Curbing cancer from the nutrition angle.

Food is medicine is a popular saying and its holding true for prevention and treatment of certain conditions especially cancer. Cancer occurs as a result of previous mitochondrial damage, which then triggers a nuclear genetic mutations that may lead to cancer. Mitochondrial function can be significantly improved through diet especially eating higher amounts of healthy fats and lower amounts of net carbs, mixed with moderate amounts of high-quality protein. Several studies points too the fact that a diet high in healthy fats and low in net carbohydrates (total carbs minus fiber, i.e. non-fiber carbs) may significantly lower the risk of developing cancer by improving mitochondrial and metabolic function. Fermented foods are also being touted as an important anti-cancer therapy. The beneficial bacteria found in fermented foods have been shown particularly effective for suppressing colon cancer, but may also inhibit cancers of the breast, liver, small intestine and other organs.

Aspirin can prevent cancer.

A new study involving scientists from Veterans Affairs in Texas suggested that aspirin,a pain-relief medication's interaction with platelets, the blood cells that form clots to stop bleeding, could stop tumors from growing thus help prevent cancer. Aspirin has been used as a medication to treat pain, fever and inflammation, but this new study shows that daily doses of aspirin could actually help prevent cancer.The research, published in the February issues of Cancer Prevention Research, found that aspirin disrupts the normal clotting process by shutting down a key enzyme called COX-1, thereby blocking interactions between platelets and cancer cells and curbing the growth of tumors.

Cause of death in children with cerebral malaria.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that scientists have discovered what causes death in children with cerebral malaria, the deadliest form of malaria infection. The research team found that the brain becomes so swollen that it is forced out through the bottom of the skull and compresses the brain stem. This pressure causes the children to stop breathing and die. Malaria kills a child every minute, although there are increased efforts targeting malaria elimination and eradication which has had some effect on malaria infection and illness. The death rates from malaria are still too high and urgent intervention proposed.

Corn,milk protein and precision medicine for children.

Medicines for children can be a challenge when taste and texture is concerned,this has prompted professor Om Perumal at South Dakota State University, and co-founder , chief scientific officer of Tranzderm Solutions, to adapt his corn protein-based drug delivery method to oral pediatric formulations. The theory behind this is to encapsulate drugs in corn protein nanoparticles and then cover them milk protein to make children’s medications better tasting and safer. The patented drug delivery system uses zein, a protein found in dried distillers grain, a co-product of ethanol production, to encapsulate the medication. The nanoparticles are approximately 500 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.

Precision medicine.

The concept of precision public health is relatively new. Of course, the precision medicine movement has taken off in the past few years, especially with the implementation of the precision medicine initiative in the US. If the goal of precision medicine is to deliver the right health intervention to the right person at the right time, the ultimate goal of precision public health is to develop and implement health interventions that can benefit the right populations at the right time. While implicit in the precision medicine concept is the use of genomic, behavioral, and environmental data in developing new and targeted interventions, more often than not, the discourse is about developing new drugs for treating cancer and other diseases. There is much less emphasis on joining biological with social/environmental determinants of health to develop and implement precision approaches to keep individuals and communities healthy. more