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Swine Flu declared a, “National Emergency” in US by Obama

Barack Obama has declared swine flu or H1N1 a national emergency.

The White House confirmed the president signed the swine flu proclamation on Friday evening, officials said the president’s declaration was similar to ones issued before hurricanes make landfall.

US officials said that last week swine flu activity was widespread in 46 states with over 1,000 deaths linked to the virus. Although figures are hard to verify, it is thought H1N1 has hospitalised about 20,000 people in the US.

The directive authorities to bypass certain federal requirements in order to deal more effectively with emergencies. The aim is to remove bureaucratic hurdles, allowing sick patients to receive treatment more quickly and giving health-care providers more flexibility in providing it.

Paperwork on patients can be reduced and additional health centres set up outside hospitals to care for the sick.

In his proclamation statement, Barack Obama says the 2009 H1N1 pandemic “continues to evolve”.

“The rates of illness continue to rise rapidly within many communities across the nation, and the potential exists for the pandemic to overburden health care resources in some localities.”

Barack said the US had already been “proactive” by implementing public health measures and developing an effective H1N1 vaccine.

Children and young adults have been among the hardest hit by H1N1. Almost 100 of the deaths have been children.

In a seperate warning to the public, the FDA warned about bogus Swine Flu Internet sites that claim to sell Tamiflu without a prescription. The FDA bought and tested five such products. One contained powdered talc and generic Tylenol, with no Tamiflu.

Tamiflu and GlaxoSmithKline’s Relenza are the only drugs recommended for treating swine flu and are available from your doctor or GP, but are rationed and subject to medical guidelines, experience and expertise in dealing with H1N1.

         

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Plum Organics Recalls Baby Food for Possible Botulism

Plum Organics has voluntarily recalled one particular batch of its 4.22 oz. Apple & Carrot Portable Pouch baby food with the “best by” date May 21, 2010.

The products are marked with universal product code (UPC) #890180001221 located on the bottom of the package.  These pouches are sold individually at Toys R Us and Babies R Us locations nationally.

No illnesses have been reported in connection with this product and no other Plum Organics products are affected.  Botulism is a rare, serious paralytic illness.

Plum Organics is widely recognized as the leading premium organic baby food brand in the nation.

“The product did not meet the FDA guidelines for proper acidity level,” said Dr. Paul Gerhardt, a Food Science Ph.D. and member of the Plum Organics action team.  “Though the risk of illness from this one batch is minimal, Plum Organics is taking the extraordinary step of recalling all Apple & Carrot Baby Food Pouches with best by date May 21, 2010.”

As a further precaution, Plum Organics took samples from every product manufactured before and after this batch for testing.  Those samples were found to be within quality standards.

Consumers who have purchased The Plum Organics Apple & Carrot pouch-based product bearing UPC #890180001221 and “best by date” of May 21, 2010, can return the product for a full refund at any Toys R Us or Babies R Us store.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration is aware of the voluntary recall by Plum Organics.  Consumers with any questions should contact 888-974-3555 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. PST, or email info@plumorganics.com.

         

New Hope For Pregnant Women Who Suffer From Morning Sickness

Around 80 percent of pregnant women will at some point suffer from morning sickness, such as nausea and vomiting during the first trimester of their pregnancy.

Occasionally, the symptoms can cause so much discomfort that mother-to-be may require treatment. This condition is known as Hyperemis gravidarum (HG), and effects around one percent of pregnant women. If untreated, it can cause severe weight loss, dehydration, or in extreme cases, death.

Once a pregnant woman has been diagnosed with HG, she will often require medication throughout her pregnancy.

New advancements in the medical field mean that now there is a safer option to improve the woman’s wellbeing.

Results of a new study have been published recently in the European Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Biology.

Senior researcher Professor Anick Bérard commented: “In 2002, we had to quickly change the medication protocol to treat hyperemisis gravidarum (HG), or severe nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, due to a FDA and Health Canada warnings,”

“The warning found that a previously used anti-vomiting medication might cause adverse cardiovascular effects in mothers. We had to quickly choose another treatment, which was safer. The current study looks back at the data to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment.”

The team of researchers investigated 229 cases of pregnancy where the women had been admitted to hospital for treatment. They studied the effects of the drug droperidol, which is currently used, compared to metoclopramide, a more recent medicine.

Metoclopramide was found to be more effective and faster at reducing the symptoms of nausea and vomiting. They also found that the medications did not effect the birth defect rate of unborn children.