Diesel fumes cause cancer - WHO

Diesel exhaust causes cancer, the World Health Organization's cancer agency has declared, a ruling it says could make exhaust as important a public health threat as second-hand smoke. The risk of getting cancer from diesel fumes is small, but since so many people breathe in the fumes in some way, the science panel says raising the status of diesel exhaust to carcinogen from 'probable carcinogen' is an important shift. 'It's on the same order of magnitude as passive smoking,' said Kurt Straif, director of the IARC department that evaluates cancer risks. 

'This could be another big push for countries to clean up exhaust from diesel engines.' Since so many people are exposed to exhaust, Straif said there could be many cases of lung cancer connected to the contaminant. He said the fumes affected groups including pedestrians on the street, ship passengers and crew, railroad workers, truck drivers, mechanics, miners and people operating heavy machinery. 

The new classification followed a weeklong discussion in Lyon, France by an expert panel organised by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The panel's decision stands as the ruling for the IARC, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization. The last time the agency considered the status of diesel exhaust was in 1989, when it was labelled a 'probable' carcinogen. 

Reclassifying diesel exhaust as carcinogenic puts it into the same category as other known hazards such as asbestos, alcohol and ultraviolet radiation. Experts said new diesel engines spew out fewer fumes but further studies are needed to assess any potential dangers. Experts in Lyon had analysed published studies, evidence from animals and limited research in humans. One of the biggest studies was published in March by the US National Cancer Institute. 

That paper analysed 12,300 miners for several decades starting in 1947. Researchers found that miners heavily exposed to diesel exhaust had a higher risk of dying from lung cancer. Lobbyists for the diesel industry argued the study wasn't credible because researchers didn't have exact data on how much exposure miners got in the early years of the study; they simply asked them to remember what their exposure was like. A person's risk for cancer depends on many variables, from genetic makeup to the amount and length of time of exposure to dangerous substances.

Source  http://www.skynews.com.au/national/article.aspx?id=760863&vId=

Depressed mums at risk of abuse: study

More than one third of all mums who suffer depression in the first year after giving birth are being abused by their partners, a study shows.

A survey of 1300 first-time mums in Melbourne found 16 per cent reported symptoms of depression before their baby turned one.

Of those, about 40 per cent were also physically or emotionally abused by their husband or boyfriend.

Associate professor Stephanie Brown, a co-author of the study by the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, said while mums had been successfully encouraged over the years to report postnatal depression, partner violence remained a taboo topic.

"It tends to be a hidden thing because the year after birth is when there's lots of pressure on families and it's difficult for women to discuss abuse with their friends, families and health professionals because it's meant to be a time of joy," she said.

"But the results from the study are sending a message that it's important for GPs and other health service workers to encourage women to seek help when they are feeling depressed or when they are being physically or emotionally abused because all these issues are common in the year after childbirth."

Emotional abuse was more common than physical abuse among the mums with postnatal depression.

Mums were also more likely to report symptoms of depression after their baby reached six months of age.

Assoc Prof Brown said that finding suggested most depressed mums could miss out on treatment because current guidelines suggest women be screened for postnatal depression in the first three months after giving birth.

"We would recommend that GPs regularly inquire about women's emotional wellbeing and issues in their relationships with their partner rather than just limiting that discussion to the first consultation or those soon after the birth," she said.

"The emotional wellbeing of the mum and her physical wellbeing does have an impact on the health of the child and that's one reason why we need to be concerned to enable women to get appropriate support."

The study, published in BJOG - An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, found women most at risk of partner violence were likely to have a history of depression, relationship problems, be aged 18-24 or over 35, and single.

Separate US studies have found that physical and emotional violence in a relationship tends to escalate in the year after a child is born.

Source http://news.ninemsn.com.au/health/8385907/depressed-mums-at-risk-of-abuse-study

To Lower Australia’s Rising Obesity Rates, Tax Soft Drinks

To battle Australia's rising obesity rates, American psychologist Kelly Brownell suggested a tax on soft drinks at the 46th Australian Psychological Association's yearly conference on Wednesday.

He favors a one penny tax per ounce on beverages that have added sugar. Twenty U.S. cities and states are considering her proposal, but have not passed laws.

Mr Brownell estimated that by taxing soft drinks, consumption would go down by 10 to 23 per cent and health care cost arising from ailments linked with excessive intake of sugar such as obesity and diabetes would go down by $50 billion.

He compared taxing sugary beverages to taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

"We have seen how effective tobacco taxes have been in reducing rates of smoking, so there is no reason to believe such taxes wouldn't be as effective in reducing the consumption of high sugar and fat foods," Xinhua quoted Mr Brownell, who is the director for Food Policy and Obesity of Yale University's Rudd Center.

"A soft drink tax is a good place to start," Mr Brownell said.

He attributed popularity of soft drinks to human nature to eat what is readily available, cost the least and heavily marketed.

"Food companies know that people have trouble eating reasonable amounts of foods engineered to taste so good, so they load food with things that boost profits but contribute to ill health, such as sugar, fat and salt," The Canberra Times quoted Mr Brownell.

Obesity rates in Australia have doubled in the past two decades, while over 17 million Australians considered obese or overweight.

Mr Brownell's proposal could be considered timely as Australia ends a two-day tax forum on Wednesday.

While fruit juices are considered healthier alternatives to soft drinks, a recent study raised the alarm that frequent fruit juice drinkers ran the risk of colon cancer because of the high sugar content of the popular beverage.

Source http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/225168/20111005/american-psychologist-suggest-lowering-australia-s-rising-obesity-rates-by-taxing-soft-drinks.htm

Tasmanian devils undergo plastic surgery

Scientists have used plastic surgery to shed new light on the deadly cancer wiping out tasmanian devils.

The devils are being killed by a contagious facial tumour disease transferred from animal-to-animal through biting.

Until now, scientists assumed the animals inbreeding was to blame.

They believed the low genetic diversity in the population meant devils could not reject the invading tumour cells.

But a plastic surgery experiment is making scientists reconsider the reason why the devils are being affected by the deadly tumours.

Associate Professor Greg Woods from the Menzies Research Institute says a plastic surgeon from a local hospital came to a bush site near Hobart to do skin grafts on devils.

"He really revolutionised the whole technique and brought out all his equipment," he said.

"What was really amazing was this was done out in the field, in the back of a truck ... the surgery went beautifully so it was really quite a nice way in which to do this research."

But there was a surprising result. Associate Professor Woods had assumed that the devils would accept skin grafts from each other.

That would have confirmed the researchers theory that the animals were catching the facial cancer from each other because the devils are so inbred.

But the devil's did not accept each other's skin.

"The graft got rejected quite nicely, which shows that the devils do have enough diversity to recognise foreign tissue," he said.

"This is really good news for the devil because it means that the devils' immune system can recognise foreign tissue.

"The challenge now is to work out what is special about those tumour cells to allow them to hide from the devils' immune system.

"I think it may be that the tumour is camouflaged; it's got a camouflage."

University of Sydney Associate Professor Kathy Belov, who has been studying the devil's genetics, says the researchers will now start studying the tumour cells.

"This has probably confused us more than anything else," she said.

"But we are going to come back and start thinking about what it means and how we can use this information to help us beat the disease."

The devil is considered an endangered species and faces extinction in about three decades if a cure for the disease is not found.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-22/20110722-plastic-surgery-sheds-light-on-devil-tumour/2806502

More properties under Hendra quarantine

FOUR properties have now been quarantined at Logan City, south of Brisbane, after a horse died from the Hendra virus at a Park Ridge property on Monday night.

Biosecurity Queensland says there was just one horse on the property but any of the seven horses on surrounding properties may have come into contact with it.

Samples will be taken from those horses for testing.

Staff from Queensland Health and Biosecurity Queensland have been doorknocking neighbours of the property where the horse died to provide information about the virus and confirm the location of other horses in the area.

Veterinarian Kylie Schaaf treated the horse at Park Ridge and is one of two people being tested for the virus in the area. The other is the horse's owner.

It is the second time Ms Schaaf has been tested for the Hendra virus after colleague Ben Cunneen died in 2008 while looking after an infected horse at Redlands Veterinary Clinic.

She told ABC Radio today she was not worried about her personal safety because she took all the necessary precautions, but she feels for those who have been affected.

But she said what she does want to see is the vaccine for horses made available quickly.

"Humans can't get infected by bats, however if we can vaccinate the horses which amplify the disease this will prevent them infecting people potentially or at least minimise the risk."

She said her understanding was that the vaccine could be available by March next year if the permit process was sped up.

Ms Schaaf said it was also now getting to the point where it was better to play it safe and take precautions any time a horse was treated.

"It's ridiculous when it could be prevented by simple vaccinations. People wouldn't be at a greater risk of dying," she said.

Eight properties in total are now under quarantine, with 42 horses being monitored.

Three of the properties are in the Beaudesert area and contain 28 horses, while the other property is at Mount Alford, near Boonah, and has seven horses.

Since June 20, six horses have died or have been put down after contracting Hendra - five in southern Queensland and one in northern New South Wales.

In Queensland, 17 people who were exposed to the sick horses are waiting to learn if they have contracted the potentially deadly virus.

Nine others linked to a Hendra case in northern NSW are also waiting for test results.

Premier Anna Bligh said today the new cases were worrying.

"The recent spate of diagnosis of Hendra virus are deeply concerning," Ms Bligh told reporters in Brisbane.

"My heart goes out to the people who are waiting for these results."

Source http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/more-properties-under-hendra-quarantine/story-e6frf7jx-1226089099057

Synthetic blood saves a life

The Victorian doctor who saved a woman's life using a transfusion of synthetic blood, says the product can help address the shortage of stock in regional Victoria and also address the imbalance in life expectancy between the city and the country.

Professor Mark Fitzgerald, who was raised in Teddywaddy West, south of Wycheproof in the state's north-west, faced with losing a patient who was unable to accept human blood transfusions due to religious beliefs had to get a blood substitute from the United States.

The director of trauma services at the Alfred hospital said he only knew about the existence of the synthetic blood, which is derived from cow blood, because he'd been involved in trials of the product in the US.

He said it was not a substitute for the real thing, but could go a long way towards addressing blood bank shortages.

"Half the people who die from injury die from blood lost," Professor Fitzgerald said.

"Our blood supplies aren't infinite and sometimes difficult to access and they need to be stored, the need to be refrigerated, they've only got a certain shelf life - essentially whole blood is only good for about a month.

"This product just carries haemoglobin, it doesn't need to be cross-matched, it can be left on the shelf for three years so it can have its advantages - particularly in the areas where you don't have very good or rapid access to blood."

Source http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/05/05/3209041.htm?site=ballarat

Backyard chillies spark chemical emergency

hillies drying in a Melbourne resident's backyard led to a chemical emergency last night.

An ambulance was called to a home in Cranbourne, in Melbourne's south-east, after two men were reported to be coughing and having difficulty breathing.

At one stage, up to 10 people in the area were complaining of feeling dizzy and nauseated.

The area was doorknocked and it emerged someone was drying out strong chillies in their backyard and that was the source of the fumes.

It was a still evening and homes up to 150 metres away were affected by the strong chilli smell.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/20/3196697.htm?site=melbourne