Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
China Hails Doctor For Raising Child Virus Alarm - New York Times
Sent to you by john via Google Reader:
China Hails Doctor For Raising Child Virus Alarm
Filed at 11:43 p.m. ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - A deadly strain of hand, foot and mouth disease has killed two more children in China, bringing the death toll in recent weeks to 32, state media said on Friday, as it praised a doctor who alerted authorities to the epidemic.
An eight-month-old girl and a boy aged one and a half, who both died in southern China, were the latest victims of an outbreak international experts have warned has yet to peak.
Hand, foot and mouth is a common childhood illness, but in the current outbreak, has been linked with enterovirus 71 (EV71) which can cause a severe form of the disease characterized by high fever, paralysis and meningitis.
The girl died early Monday morning in Guangdong province, which has registered four deaths from EV71, after emergency treatment failed, Xinhua said.
The boy, from the neighboring Guangxi region, started running a fever and coughing on Saturday but his parents didn't take him to hospital until Tuesday, when he fell into a coma. Doctors could not save him and he became Guangxi's second victim.
A cluster of EV71 cases in Fuyang in the central province of Anhui in March saw 22 deaths. Some 104 patients remain in critical condition across the province, official media has said.
The outbreak was not made public until late April, triggering memories of the deadly SARS epidemic that crippled China in 2003 and provoking calls for Fuyang officials to be sacked.
The World Health Organisation has said the delay was not because of any cover-up, but was due to problems local doctors faced trying to identify the illness.
China has since issued a nationwide alert, closing kindergartens and sending officials to visit nurseries and primary schools and educate staff on hygiene and prevention.
A U.S. health official offered to assist China in curbing the outbreak, and U.S. Health Secretary Michael Leavitt is to visit Beijing next week, Xinhua reported.
"We are willing to help China in any way possible with this issue," it quoted William Steiger, head of the Office of Global Health Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health, as saying.
State media Friday was filled with praise for a doctor who called in experts after she was baffled by the deaths of several children that colleagues insisted were just suffering severe colds or flu.
The official People's Daily carried a tribute with the headline "We salute you, Fuyang's Liu Xiaolin," comparing Liu to a doctor who helped lead the fight against the deadly SARS virus.
"We have no way to count how many children were treated and cured because of Liu Xiaolin's responsibility and steadfastness; there is also no way to calculate how many families avoided the epidemic because of her sharpness and courage," it said.
Liu had previously helped uncover a baby milk scandal, when fake formula made without key nutrients caused the death by malnutrition of several children.
(Reporting by Emma Graham-Harrison and Lindsay Beck; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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WHO Backs China's Reporting of Fatal Virus - WSJ.com
Write to Jason Leow at jason.leow@wsj.com"
reassuring re chinese reporting, although it's odd that it's so severe. This is after all coxackie virus, a very common spring summer virus here that is generally a pain, but not very severe.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Measles Infections in United States - Medicine and Health - New York Times
A reminder of the potential effects of the unfortunate backlash against immunizations. The article is accurate in describing that is all driven data-less almost hysterical fearmongering re vaccinations. Unfortunately it may take quite a number of sad stories of measles related brain damage for people to anchor the side of the risk equation, that we are preventing very bad diseases with these vaccines.
Virus Kills 22 Children in China - New York Times
sounds like regular old coxackie virus, but that the children may have a more virulent form, and were more vulnerable because of poverty (health care, nutrition status)
Thursday, May 1, 2008
A Cure-All for Jet Lag? Try Caffeine and Naps - New York Times
this is a pre-significant problem when picking up a young infant 12 hours aways like you do during overseas adoptions. Your exhausted, your adrenaline is completely flowing, and most parents crash pretty hard along with the kids sometime in the first week.
On performance enhancing with sleep phase shifts, bottom line,
when you switch,
get out in the sunlight,
drink caffeine,
take a nap,
and don't be over tired before and after your trip.
Save your sleep!
You'll be much more functional, less anxious, less irritable and will be able to enjoy the whole experience more.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
WHO 0-5 growth chart for girls
I think a more accurate and valid way to measure the growth parameters for a child in the developing world. Bottom line, american babies are some of the chubbiest in the world, so may not be a great comparison base for "physiologically normal"
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
travel kit recommendations
Stuff to tide you and the little one over in your travels...
-Tylenol (acetaminophen) liquid preparation for the infant: Approximately 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons depending on weight.
-Motrin (Ibuprofen) liquid preparation for the infant: Approximately 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons depending on weight.
-hydrocortisone 1% for itching; hydrocortisone 2.5% for eczema or inflamed itchy skin (this is a prescription only)
-triple antibiotic ointment for topical cuts and abrasions
-Benadryl or diphenhydramine suspension for congestion and some forms of cough, usually not useful for children under 2 yrs of age. (this is the reason many of the otc products have been pulled from the market.)
-thermometer
-bandages
-electrolyte solution, such packaged (powdered) Pedialyte
-infant formula(one cow's milk based such as Similac or Enfamil: No need for lactose-free)
-soy milk based formula if formula intolerance is suspected
-moisturizing cream: (Cetaphil, Eucerin)
-antibiotic alcohol based and wipes
-simethicone drops for infants (often not very helpful and not harmful, and makes you fell like you are doing something)
-Pepto-Bismol for parents
-DEET-based mosquito repellent 10% for the child (more relevant in rural contexts)
-tweezers, scissors, alcohol
-diaper cream (any zinc oxide based product/petroleum)10%-40% (butt paste, AND ointment,
-nystatin or clotrimazole ointment for fungal diaper rash (can be found in local pharmacy foot section), or I can prescribe it.
-earplugs for travel, can be nice to give to people around you and alleviate your discomfort and their discomfort with a crying infant.
I do not think that you need any antibiotics by mouth. Where bacterial infections are suspected, I prefer that the child be examined and treated by a local physician generally. In most countries, some kind of Western based medical clinics are available.
Depending on your preference, I can prescribe anti-scabies medications. Occasionally children are infested with scabies and it certainly improves the quality of life in the first several weeks, if you treat the child. This may also prevent spread to the rest of the family. Please let me know what your preference is.
