U.S. helps Myanmar in bird flu fight

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 03:50:04 GMT
By AYE AYE WIN, Associated Press Writer
YANGON, Myanmar - The U.S. has provided Myanmar with $600,000 worth of equipment for bird flu prevention after fresh outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 virus were discovered on poultry farms, state media said Sunday.
The United States gives virtually no direct assistance to Myanmar's military government because of its disapproval of the junta's poor record on human rights and democracy, as well as its failure to suppress the drug trade.

The assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development is being channeled through the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, which on Saturday signed an agreement with the government's Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department to provide the aid, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.

The report did not specify what equipment would be provided.

Myanmar livestock officials in the past two weeks told the World Organization for Animal Health about two H5N1 outbreaks among poultry at two farms on the outskirts of Myanmar's largest city, Yangon, which killed a total of 79 birds.

More than 1,400 other birds were killed in an effort to stop the spread of the disease.

"We are actively cooperating with international agencies and we need assistance from international communities for prevention and control of bird flu," Dr. Than Hla, director of the Livestock Research Department, told The Associated Press.

Until the recent cases, Myanmar last reported an H5N1 outbreak among poultry in March 2006.

The H5N1 virus has killed least 168 people worldwide since it began ravaging Asian poultry farms in late 2003, according to the World Health Organization. Myanmar has reported no human H5N1 cases, though neighboring Thailand has reported 25 human infections, including 17 deaths, and Laos, another neighbor, recently reported its first human case and fatality.

Bird flu remains hard for humans to catch. But health experts fear it may mutate into a form that could spread easily between people and potentially kill millions around the world.

Care of wounded British vets draws fire

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 01:18:59 GMT
By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer
LONDON - Wounded British troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are receiving inadequate medical treatment similar to that reported by American veterans, relatives and British media reported Sunday.
Families of the wounded British soldiers have also complained about widespread mental health problems among veterans, with some suggesting that health services in both Britain and the U.S. have been stretched by lack of planning for the conflict.

British Defense Secretary Des Browne said Sunday that an investigation had begun into the treatment of 18-year-old Jamie Cooper, the youngest British soldier wounded in Iraq. He was badly injured in November when a mortar bomb exploded in the southern city of Basra.

The soldier's older brother, Stephen Cooper, said his family was angry over the medical treatment offered to his brother and others. In a letter to hospital executives ed by The Observer newspaper, the family complained that Cooper had spent a night lying in his own feces after hospital staff failed to carry out checks and had contracted a potentially deadly infection.

"The families of all the soldiers just want to make sure that they are guaranteed better treatment," Stephen Cooper said.

Responding to the criticism, the Ministry of Defense issued a statement from the military's surgeon general, Lt. Gen. Louis Lillywhite, defending the treatment of veterans. A survey this year of patients being treated at a military-managed ward at the British hospital for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan found that "all rated their treatment as excellent, very good or good."

Still, Lillywhite said, "When any members of the armed forces, or their family, are unhappy about their treatment then we will investigate with the on their behalf."

Accusations about problems treating wounded soldiers have also recently dogged the U.S. government, which is accused of allowing conditions at the military's flagship Walter Reed Army Medical Center to deteriorate.

Congressional hearings have been held in the U.S. on reports of shoddy outpatient health care at Walter Reed. Current and former U.S. officials and patients at the hearings told of neglect, bureaucratic delays and other problems at veterans hospitals and clinics across the country.

The Sunday Times said some British troops suffering from mental problems after service in Iraq and in Afghanistan are waiting up to 18 months for treatment with Britain's public-funded National Health Service. Veterans are entitled to priority NHS treatment for "disabling conditions" that result from their service, but many are being put on long waiting lists, the paper said.

The Independent on Sunday said an investigation had found that more than 21,000 British service members from Iraq have developed anxiety and depression.

Combat Stress, a charity that runs three homes for veterans with post traumatic stress disorder, also reported an increase in its patient referrals. "The worry is that it is only the bow wave of what will be coming for many years," said charity spokesman Robert Marsh.

The Ministry of Defense told The Associated Press on Sunday that 2,123 British service members had been treated for mental problems after returning home from the Iraq war, as of September.

A ministry spokeswoman said that number represents only about 2 percent of the service members who have been deployed to Iraq. She said their problems have included adjustment disorder, defined as stress related to combat or problems at home, as well as post traumatic stress disorder and substance abuse. She spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with government regulations.

Egyptian boy tests positive for bird flu

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 01:20:45 GMT
By SALAH NASRAWI, Associated Press Writer
CAIRO, Egypt - A 4-year-old Egyptian boy has contracted the potentially deadly strain of bird flu, bringing to two dozen the number of people to be diagnosed with the disease since it appeared in the country last year, the Health Ministry said Sunday.
Mohammed Mahmoud Ibrahim tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu Saturday, two days after being admitted to the hospital with a fever and cold symptoms, the ministry said in a statement.

Ibrahim, who lives in the Nile delta town of Daqahliya, is receiving medical treatment at Manshiyat Al Bakri children's hospital in Cairo, the ministry said.

A Health Ministry official said the boy contracted the virus from domestic birds raised by his family. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Thirteen of the 24 Egyptians who have contracted the H5N1 strain since last February have died. Most of the infected have been women or girls, who normally tend to look after chickens and turkeys kept in the backyards of Egyptian homes.

Egypt is on a main route for migratory birds, which are believed to have brought disease from Asia.

Since it began ravaging Asian poultry farms in late 2003, the H5N1 strain has killed at least 167 people worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Health officials worldwide worry the strain could mutate into a form that spreads easily from person to person, sparking a pandemic.

Americans increasingly medicating pets

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 11:03:01 GMT
By JEFF DONN, Associated Press Writer
WAYNE COUNTY, N.C. - With aging, it's become a routine faithfully endured by the Guffords. Each day starts with a blood sugar check and a shot of insulin. Then a couple of pills, maybe mashed into a bowl of tuna and canned carrots. Mixed with dry chow. All for their 12-year-old dog.
Brownie takes more drugs than his human companions put together. He has been medicated in recent months for diabetes, infections, high blood pressure, and his finicky gut that rebels at red meat. Since 2005, he has taken drugs for everything from anemia to a spider bite.

"He's our baby, he's a family member, I would want somebody to do that for me," explains Ann Gufford.

She estimates spending $5,000 over the last two years on medicine for her baby, a mixed beagle-cocker spaniel. He has lost a couple of steps on the squirrels outside their little home near Goldsboro. His hearing is failing. Still, without some of the drugs, he'd probably be gone.

"You cannot put a price on that," says Mrs. Gufford.

"And I don't want to," adds her husband, Ben.

Americans have begun to medicate their dogs, cats and sometimes other pets much as they medicate themselves.

They routinely treat their pets for arthritis, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, allergies, dementia, and soon maybe even obesity. They pick from an expanding menu of mostly human pharmaceuticals like steroids for inflammation, antibiotics for infection, anti-clotting agents for heart ailments, Prozac or Valium for anxiety, even the impotence drug Viagra for a lung condition in dogs.

Increasingly, they buy at people pharmacies or online and sometimes pay with health insurance.

Until recent decades, American veterinarians still concentrated on care that reflected the country's agrarian roots: keeping farm animals healthy to protect the human food supply. Instead of being medicated, a very sick animal was quickly sacrificed to save the herd. Pets were typically kept outside with the cows, chickens and pigs. A dog was lucky for a dry place in a crude shelter; a cat, for a warm spot in the barn.

Within the last five years, pets have finally overtaken farm animals in the pharmaceutical marketplace, claiming 54 percent of spending for animal drugs, according to the trade group Animal Health Institute.

Keeping more than 130 million dogs and cats alone, Americans bought $2.9 billion worth of pet drugs in 2005. Though equal to only 1 percent of human drug sales, the market has grown by roughly half since the year 2000.

"As more and more drugs are being developed for people, more and more drugs are being developed for veterinary medicine. It's really a parallel track," says Dr. Gerald Post, founder of the nonprofit Animal Cancer Foundation.

The U.S. http://www.fda.gov/cvm
Dogs Adverse Reactions: http://dogsadversereactions.com