The CDC published another feature on travel earlier this month; this time on Staying Healthy on a Cruise.?á At least this one isn’t an advisory like the ones for Spring Break or Carnival.
It recommends being up on the appropriate immunizations and vaccines and mentions precautions regarding seasickness and norovirus.
Along these travel lines, the books display at the Isché Library highlight a variety of travel topics.
NPR ran a story this morning about the troubling rise in diabetes rates in adolescents.?á According to a CDC study the rates of diabetes in youths aged 12-19 has risen alarmingly.
LSUHSC’s own Dr. Melinda Sothern commented in the story about the concerns of the high rates of diabetes in adolescent girls in particular:
These are teen girls ÔÇö adolescent girls ÔÇö who are going to become mothers in the next five to 10 years. And if their weight is not healthy, we’re going to have another generation of these children with metabolic problems that lead to diabetes and prediabetes
Obesity in children is a hot topic right now and is something that concerns all of us, not just those with children.?á A report on economic costs of diabetes states:
Approximately $1 in $10 health care dollars is attributed to diabetes. Indirect costs include increased factors such as absenteeism, reduced productivity, and lost productive capacity due to early mortality.
FYI, LSUHSC has another connection to the NPR story. The accompanying photo on NPR’s website was taken by Director of Information Services, Leslie Capo.
As the “locavore” movement continues to blossom across the country, it’s no longer only rural citizens who have access to less-industrialized food options: even residents of cities are finding ways to grow their own produce, or at least acquire it from nearby sources. This provides more economical and healthy options for cooks. A part of this movement has been the choice of some urban homesteaders to raise their own poultry.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) currently has a page on its website with helpful information about Keeping Backyard Poultry. The major point that the CDC addresses is the prevention of the spread of Salmonella, an illness that is transmitted in a variety of ways. It can be spread through contact with poultry (or any birds), including?áchickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys.
Salmonellosis is an infection with the bacteria called?áSalmonella.?áMost persons infected with?áSalmonella?ádevelop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. In these patients, the?áSalmonella?áinfection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.
The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness. The CDC highly recommends hand-washing and careful hygiene to anyone handling live poultry or poultry products such as meat or eggs. All poultry and poultry-related equipment and supplies should be considered contaminated even if the animals look healthy.
Interestingly enough, the?áTimes-Picayune?ápublished an article?álast year that examined troubles with feral chicken populations which have grown since Hurricane Katrina. Recently, local ABC affiliate WGNO-TV covered a story about the difficulties in catching feral chickens in the city. New Orleans has its own special set of issues when it comes to the cosmopolitan bird.
Contraband camp, Richmond, Va, 1865, image courtesy of the US National Archives
Here’s a great post about the first US sponsored hospital for African Americans from Jill L. Newmark, exhibition specialist in the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.
On a parcel of swampy land in northwest Washington, D.C. bounded by 12th, 13th, R and S Streets N.W., a tented camp and hospital once stood that served thousands of escaped slaves and black soldiers during the American Civil War. Known as Contraband Camp, it contained one of the few hospitals that treated blacks in Washington, D.C. during the war and whose staff, including nurses and surgeons, were largely African American.
Read more: Contraband Hospital, 1862-1863: Health Care For the First Freedpeople
Photo Credit: F.P. Williams, U.S. EPA
Various local news agencies are reporting that the LSU baseball team was missing 16 players for their game last night due to stomach flu.
Coincidentally, the CDC is featuring Norovirus Surveillance on their webpage yesterday. We published a publication alert post in November about Norovirus in NBA players.
Much like the Carnival Advisory we wrote about last month, the Centers for Disease Control has posted a Spring Break Travel Advisory. I wonder how many Spring Breakers even know that the CDC exists?
Today is the fifth International Rare Disease Day which will be recognized and celebrated in over 40 countries worldwide.
Started on February 29, 2008 by EUROIDS (The European Organisation for Rare Diseases) this day is used for gaining individual hope and political awareness for those who suffer with rare diseases around the globe.
Events scheduled for this year focus on ÔÇ£solidarityÔÇØ with the slogan ÔÇ£rare but strong together.ÔÇØ To learn more click here.
Below is a list of Rare Disease Communities that exist (found on http://www.rarediseasecommunities.org/en), but others can be found through an available search engine.
Americans who turn up in the emergency room to get dental care aren’t lost, they’re probably just running out of options.
According to a new report from the Pew Center on the States more than 800,000 visits to the ER in 2009 were for toothaches and other avoidable dental ailments.
What effect will this have on the future of dental care??á It really depends on who you are talking to:
Ever wonder why fashion models and fitness buffs are perpetually dining on fish and veggies??á
Because?áSeafood is healthy!
Not only is it full of protein, Omega 3s, vitamins and minerals- it typically contains fewer calories and fat grams than other protein sources (i.e. poultry and eggs).
With all of this positive information letÔÇÖs take a minute to ponder how lucky we are to live in New Orleans, Louisiana- a veritable wonderland of seafood!
OK. Minute is up.
Now itÔÇÖs time to take action and join the Louisiana Seafood Fitness Challenge!
Started by Bobby Hebert (former New Orleans Saints Quarterback) and his WWWL SportÔÇÖs Talk co-host (Deke Bellavia), Louisiana Seafood Fitness Challenge ?áwill follow these men as they see who can lose the most weight in 40 days simply by incorporating more seafood into their diet. The best part? Anyone can join this challenge.
Take the pledge, submit your healthiest seafood recipe and?áshare your inspirational seafood success story all in the name of encouraging all of?áLouisiana to eat their way to health . . . with Louisiana Seafood of course!
National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is today, February 7th. The CDC reports “Among all racial/ethnic groups, African Americans bear the greatest burden of HIV in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1 in 16 black men and 1 in 32 black women will be diagnosed with HIV infection during their lifetimes. In 2009, blacks made up 14% of the US population but accounted for nearly half (44%) of all new HIV infections.”
Know the facts about HIV/AIDS in New Orleans and get involved in?áLouisiana.
*Edit* the Gambit blog has more on this topic.
Library Shoebox Float - 2010
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have a Carnival Advisory linked from their main webpage at the moment.
A couple of quick points about the page:
The New Orleans Health Department has issued a new Health Resource Guide entitled a Guide to Behavioral Health Resources in the Greater New Orleans Area which “provides information on accessing mental health and substance abuse resources in the Greater New Orleans area.” This new guide is in addition to A Guide to No or Low Pay Community Healthcare in Orleans Parish which was released in August 2011. Both brochures are available from the Health Department webpage as PDF downloads.
Walkscore.com is a website that designates a number ranging from 0-100 to any address based on its “walkability.”
According to the website “Walk Score uses a patent-pending system to measure the walkability of an address. The Walk Score algorithm awards points based on the distance to amenities in each category. Amenities within .25 miles receive maximum points and no points are awarded for amenities further than one mile.”
The Walk Score for LSUHSC is 75. When compared against the rating chart (below)we see that LSUHSC is Very Walkable.
90ÔÇô100 Walker’s Paradise ÔÇö Daily errands do not require a car.
70ÔÇô89 Very Walkable ÔÇö Most errands can be accomplished on foot.
50ÔÇô69 Somewhat Walkable ÔÇö Some amenities within walking distance.
25ÔÇô49 Car-Dependent ÔÇö A few amenities within walking distance.
0ÔÇô24 Car-Dependent ÔÇö Almost all errands require a car.
What is the Walk Score of your home? Find out here!
The retired professor of surgery, Bert Myers, published a book about x-ray photography. A mere 18 years after the x-ray was discovered by Roentgen, the French scientist Goby took an x-ray of a leaf in 1913 and soon to follow were others that took an interest in the unique and creative art form. Most recently, Myers has been adding color to some of his x-rayed images through Photoshop.
The book mentions four image manipulations: positive, negative, solarized, and line derivation. ?áBelow is a positive black & white image of a blue crab.
For more details and an up close look at more photos, the book is available through his website or borrow the library’s copy.
If you arenÔÇÖt familiar with locating books in our library donÔÇÖt fret, take a look at our How to find a book tutorial on the libraryÔÇÖs homepage (updates coming soon!).
Expectantly, when doctors did house calls, they depended on their knowledge as well as the considerably well thought out contents placed inside their bags.
Most had six compartments that allowed for a wide range of necessities to be stored; to name a few: injections, gauze, sutures, needles, gloves, and pills. More contents usually meant that the location of practice or closest hospital were farther away.
The bag was usually kept in the trunk or in the vehicles interior, however the hot summer months and freezing temperatures during winter presented challenges for some of its contents. Bottles of sterile water and ampoules were sometimes frozen solid which meant that they had to be thawed out before being administered and even then have the possibility of losing its potency.
Get an up close look! —> Currently on display in the Library Commons
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