S.Korea kills birds after flu outbreakSat, 10 Feb 2007 07:45:35 GMTBy KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean quarantine officials began slaughtering hundreds of thousands of poultry after a fresh outbreak of bird flu in a province near the South Korean capital, the Agriculture Ministry said Saturday. The outbreak — the sixth in South Korea in recent months — was caused by the H5 strain of the virus, but further tests were needed to determine whether it has been caused by the N1 type, said Kim Chang-seob, the ministry's chief veterinary officer. Quarantine officials will kill 240,000 poultry within a two-mile radius of the outbreak site at a chicken farm in Anseong, about 50 miles south of Seoul, Kim said. That would bring the total number of birds culled in the six outbreaks to more than 2 million since November. All cases involved the H5N1 virus. South Korea culled 5.3 million birds during the last known outbreak of bird flu in 2003. The H5N1 virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003 and has killed more than 160 people worldwide. In January, South Korean officials said that the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus had been transmitted to a human during a recent outbreak among poultry, but the person showed no symptoms of the disease as the poultry farm worker developed natural immunity. Most human cases have resulted from contact with infected birds. Scientists fear the virus could mutate into a form that is easily transmitted between people, possibly creating a pandemic that could kill millions. CDC finds dramatic rise in drug deathsFri, 09 Feb 2007 23:57:37 GMTBy MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer ATLANTA - Unintentional fatal drug overdoses in the United States nearly doubled from 1999 to 2004, overtaking falls to become the nation's second-leading cause of accidental death, behind automobile crashes, the government reported. The number of accidental drug overdose deaths rose from 11,155 in 1999 to 19,838 in 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report was based on death certificates, which do not clearly detail which drugs played the greatest role. But CDC researchers said they believe sedatives and prescription painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin were the chief cause of the increase. OxyContin has been blamed for hundreds of deaths across the country in recent years, becoming such a scourge in Appalachia that it is known as "hillbilly heroin." Deaths from falls climbed between 1999 and 2004 at a more modest rate, from 13,162 to 18,807, the CDC said. Motor vehicle crashes accounted for 40,965 fatalities in 1999 and 43,432 in 2004. The South had one of the lowest fatal drug overdose rates in the nation in 1999, but it doubled by 2004. The South now ties the West for having the highest rate — about 8 per 100,000 population. "This is the first study really to describe the large relative increases in poisoning mortality rates in rural states. Historically, the drug issue has been seen as an urban problem," said Dr. Len Paulozzi, a CDC epidemiologist. The federal report, issued this week, noted that accidental drug overdoses remain most common in men and in people 35 to 54. But the most dramatic increases in death rates were for white females, young adults and Southerners Other findings: • The death rates for men remained roughly twice the rate for women, but the female rate doubled from 1999 to 2004 while the male rate increased by 47 percent. • The rate for white women rose more dramatically than for any other gender group, to 5 deaths per 100,000 population. • The rate of overdose deaths among teens and young adults, ages 15 to 24, is less than half that of the 35-to-54 group. But it rose much more dramatically, climbing 113 percent in the study years, to 5.3 deaths per 100,000 population. About 50 percent of the deaths in 2004 were attributed to narcotics and hallucinogens, a category that includes heroin, cocaine and prescription painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin. Earlier research suggests that deaths from illegal drugs appear to be holding steady. "There is a misperception that because a drug is a prescription medicine, it's safe to use for non-medical reasons. And clearly that is not true," said Dr. Anne Marie McKenzie-Brown, a pain medicine expert at Atlanta's Emory Crawford Long Hospital. Drug czar Use of illegal drugs is downSat, 10 Feb 2007 04:48:11 GMTBy JOSEPH B. FRAZIER, Associated Press Writer PORTLAND, Ore. - Illegal drug use in the United States has dropped sharply since 2001 but abuse of prescription drugs remains a problem, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said Friday. John Walters said that President Bush's anti-drug plan for 2007-08 is to reduce prescription drug abuse by 15 percent over three years. The administration ranks the problem second only to marijuana. The plan singled out the pain reliever OxyContin as one of the prescription drugs most abused. It calls for more states to adopt prescription drug monitoring programs to prevent "doctor-shopping" to get prescriptions for more drugs. Walters said overall use of illegal drugs among young people is down 23 percent from 2001, with 840,000 fewer teenagers using drugs now. He credited drug testing for much of the decline and urged its expansion in schools. He also said abuse among older people declined. About 1,000 school districts carry out drug tests, which can trigger an intervention that keeps a young drug abuser from carrying the habit into adulthood, Walters said. Despite some concerns for invasion of privacy, he said, the United States will "look stupid in five or ten years if we don't do this." Walters said the data came from a survey done at the University of Michigan for the National Institute For Substance Abuse. The report says about 19.7 million Americans reported using at least one illegal substance in the previous month. In Washington, D.C, Bill Piper, director of affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, called the strategy a "spin on the failure of the war on drugs." He said in a statement that despite incarcerating millions of Americans, drugs are as available as ever and the related harms of addiction, overdose, and the spread of disease continue to mount. Piper said drug use rates are less important than whether the death, disease, crime and other suffering associated with abuse go up or down. PG to launch 5minute tooth whitenerSat, 10 Feb 2007 00:51:05 GMTBy DAN SEWELL, AP Business Writer CINCINNATI - Procter & Gamble Co., convinced that there's plenty of growth left in the tooth-whitening market, soon will launch a new version of its Crest Whitestrips aimed at folks who would like a brighter smile, but don't want to spend a lot of time on it. While most whitening systems in stores now require an investment of at least 30 minutes at a time, these are designed for five-minute use. P&G research showed that there was strong potential among consumers who said they were too busy to use whitening systems. "They say I really want to whiten my teeth, but I need it to fit into my life," said David Dintenfass, a P&G oral care marketing executive. The peroxide-based "daily multicare" strips that will hit U.S. shelves in March are meant for everyday use that P&G says will quickly take care of such stains as coffee and red wine. And to further speed things up, both upper and lower strips are now in the same pouch. P&G and Colgate-Palmolive Co. have been aggressively adding to their products in the U.S. oral care market, long dominated by the two consumer product companies. Each has more than a third of U.S. toothpaste sales topping $1.2 billion a year. Colgate, which recently reported that its leading share grew to 37.3 percent last year, has been led by its Total toothpaste, with a solid reputation for improving oral health. Crest countered last year with the new Pro-Health line that goes after mouth maladies such as gingivitis and plaque. P&G recently told analysts Pro-Health was off to a fast start in sales, while Colgate announced the launch of Total Advanced Clean toothpaste. Meanwhile, Crest claims a nearly 70 percent share of the smaller home whitening-system retail market estimated at more than $200 million a year, according to ACNeilsen data. Amber Harris, 28, of nearby Trenton, Ohio, said her dentist gave her Whitestrips to use before her wedding two years ago and she liked the results. She hasn't used them since, though. "It takes a long time and it's kind of expensive," she said. "But I would probably use that if it takes only five minutes." The first Whitestrips version — which required twice-daily, 30-minute uses over two weeks for whitening to last six months — made its debut in 2001. Subsequent versions have included Renewal, which targeted baby boomers with a pledge to take years off their smiles. Growth in the whitening market has slowed in recent years, but the five-minute strips should fire it up, Dintenfass said. "It's a pretty broad demographic," he said. "It applies to a lot of different consumers, working families, people with busy lives." The new strips will have 42 pouches for a suggested price of $39.99, P&G said, and the launch will be backed by television, magazine, and online advertising. ___ On the Net: http://www.crest.com http://www.colgate.com |
