Posts

May 24, 2013

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We now revere John Snow, the father of modern epidemiology, for his brilliant work in tracing (and eliminating) the source of a cholera epidemic. Back in the day, though, Lancet founding editor Thomas Wakley was, to put it mildly, not a big fan. Here is John Snow’s obituary, published in Lancet on June 26, 1858:“This well-known physician died at noon, on the 16th instant, at his house in Sackville Street, from an attack of apoplexy. His researches on chloroform and other anaesthetics were […]

May 23, 2013

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11:06 PM | Your Child’s Perception of Danger: Information Overload Is Its Own Threat

Danger has threatened our lives since the dawn of time. Nature has given all creatures mechanisms to ward off and fight danger and keep safe. The key is to have an accurate perception of a threat and an appropriate response to it. However, in today’s hyper-connected, “always on” environment, some of our mechanisms can backfire [...]

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8:04 PM | 41 sickened; New Mexico plant shuttered for 8 months amid salmonella outbreak is making peanut butter again

In fall, 2012, 41 people in 20 states contracted Salmonella from natural and organic peanut butter, primarily through purchases at Trader Joe’s. By Nov. 2012, Sunland was eager to reopen, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had other ideas, … Continue reading →

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5:56 PM | Finish out the school year for a needy classroom with a DonorsChoose matched donation

Many of you responded enthusiastically to the DonorsChoose science bloggers drives that we've been running in the fall, just after the start of the school year. For those who donated, my thanks and respect. Now DonorsChoose has come up with a $25,000 matching fund for you, Dear Readers, all of you who read the Scientopia [...]

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5:01 PM | ATF obstructs safety investigators examining blast at West Fertilizer

The federal, State and local authorities investigating the West Fertilizer plant disaster each have different responsibilities and expertise. The ATF is acting like its task is the only one that matters.

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12:00 PM | Making a Marriage Work

A study published recently in the journal GeroPsych examines the association between coping behavior and their relationship satisfaction in older spousal dyads. Researchers examined N = 132 couples (M age = 68 years) and found that their dyadic coping strategies...

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11:02 AM | ‘I got to publish a paper with Ninja in title’: evaluation of a food safety education game

Erstwhile food safety nerd and friend of the blog, Don Schaffner of Rutgers, was one of the authors of a new paper in the British Food Journal exploring food safety education for middle school youths. “Teaching people about food safety … Continue reading →

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10:50 AM | Ethnic restaurant in Sydney fined $85,000

The Crow’s Nest, an Indian and Pakistani cuisine restaurant in North Sydney, has been fined $85,00 for more than 15 different food safety violations that took place between 2011 and the present date. Mike Stewart of Australian Food Safety News … Continue reading →

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10:30 AM | 294 sick; Firefly Salmonella creates complications, hard choices for pregnant Las Vegan

In late April, a couple of days after Konstantino and “Myla,” Lyudmyla Kouris walked over from their All Real Estate investment company office to have lunch with their friend Nikk Zorbas at the Firefly restaurant next door, Myla, got sick. Paul … Continue reading →

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10:10 AM | Food safety apology II: Copa sorry for Salmonella outbreak

The restaurant behind Canberra’s largest salmonella outbreak has made a public apology to affected diners. The Copa Brazilian Churrasco restaurant in Dickson released the statement on Thursday morning, after 140 people fell ill and 15 were admitted to hospital after eating … Continue reading →

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10:00 AM | What is the Gold Standard in Nutrition?

When people learn that my graduate training was in nutrition science, they frequently seek dietary advice (should I be doing this?) or affirmation of a current practice (I am doing this. Do you have an opinion?). The answers are never simple. Social conversations are fraught with risk of confrontation because nutrition is personal and our actions are more often guided by beliefs than data. To circumvent expert opinion, health professions, including nutrition, have embraced ?gold […]

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9:54 AM | Food safety apology I: Texas health type says sorry to family

The parents of an 18-month-old and a 4-year-old who were sickened by E. coli from a local restaurant weren’t happy with a Brazos County Health Department news conference on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the doctor who ate a taco from the … Continue reading →

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1:25 AM | 294 now sick with Salmonella linked to sausage (chorizo ) at Vegas Firefly restaurant

On April 26, 2013, the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD), Office of Epidemiology (OOE) received reports of gastrointestinal illness from 8 independent groups of patrons of Firefly on Paradise or the adjacent affiliated restaurant Dragonfly on Paradise (Firefly) located at … Continue reading →

May 22, 2013

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11:50 PM | Blowing in the wind

No summary available for this post.

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10:56 PM | 8 now sick with Salmonella linked to tahini sesame paste

Following on the initial release by the Minnesota Department of Health last week, a total of eight persons in six states has been infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Montevideo or Salmonella Mbandaka linked to tahini sesame paste distributed by Krinos Foods, … Continue reading →

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10:45 PM | Sequester Impacts

That thing where someone else at the University is walking around, obviously checking out under-utilized lab space and then when caught says: "Oh, well, it looked on RePORTER like you have just like the one grant in no-cost extension so.... [awkward pause]"

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10:34 PM | Another unplucked gem: Texas health type says E. coli outbreak was a fluke

In addition to offending parents and public health types by a taco-eating endorsement of a restaurant faulted for landing two kids in hospital for a month, Dr. Eric Wilke, of the Brazos County Health Department in Texas also said yesterday … Continue reading →

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7:37 PM | Academia is heritable

I tweeted a link to A Manifesto for Community Colleges, Lifelong Learning, and Autodidacts and include the lede As some are raised a Catholic or an atheist or a vegetarian, I was raised an academic. I was later bemused by the number of RTs and I started to think about why. I think it was [...]

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6:21 PM | FDA shoots self in the foot

Last week I blogged about the FDA's ruling to classify human stool as an investigational new drug, making it more difficult for patients with recurrent C. difficile infection to undergo fecal transplantation, an incredibly effective therapy. I was scheduled to perform a fecal transplant on a patient this morning, but notified her a few weeks ago that we could not proceed because of the new ruling. She asked to keep the appointment with me anyway. She presented to clinic this morning and […]

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5:52 PM | The great hazelnut/Salmonella caper part deux

A lot of a risk manager’s job is just paying attention to what’s going on. Food safety types at a company that buys food and resells it (a grocery store, food service operator, wholesaler) or uses food ingredients, should be … Continue reading →

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5:27 PM | “Lead Wars” – The politics of prevention and responsibility

A new book from Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner tells the disheartening story of our country's ongoing failure to fully protect children from lead poisoning

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5:06 PM | Fear and Loathing...part 2 (wait, what was part 1 and why loathing?)

Can't think of fear without the loathing part thanks to Hunter S. Thompson. I think that's in part because you tend to feel some level of self-loathing for feeling fear, and you certainly do to other people whose fear renders them less than noble, like Yossarian in Catch-22. He's not heroic in the traditional sense, although it occurs to me that Ayn Rand might consider him to be an incredible hero for putting self-preservation first.Fear, though, is about self-preservation. It's an adaptive […]

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4:38 PM | Wildlife Veterinary Externship in Australia: Taronga Zoo

Learn everything you need to know about a unique opportunity to train in zoo and wildlife medicine as a veterinary student at the Taronga Zoo in Australia.The post Wildlife Veterinary Externship in Australia: Taronga Zoo appeared first on Elliott Garber.

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10:00 AM | World Vision and DSM Announce Partnership to Save Lives

The first thousand days, counting from the start of pregnancy to a child?s second birthday are critical. Their tiny bodies undergo tremendous change. Proper nutrition is essential for organs to grow and mature. Sparkling little eyes require vitamin A, lutein, zeaxanthin, and long-chain polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids to see. Immune cells needs zinc and iron to protect the body. Bones and teeth require vitamin D and calcium. Without adequate nutrition, irreversible damage ? stunting ? of […]

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8:08 AM | The Delights of Data

Three little words. The whole of epidemiology, taking in the whole sweep of humanity and what our health is like at any given time across the globe, can be summed up with three little words: Frequency Distribution Determinants That's it. Quite technical words, I grant you, but easy enough to get your head around. Frequency just means how much, how many cases of something over a period of time. Distribution - who's getting it? Is it more likely to be... Read more

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4:46 AM | When health types choose restaurants over public health; parents of boys sickened from E. coli insulted by news conference

People are never as funny as they think they are; I especially ingrain that message into public health students and professionals, because when little kids are really sick, humor don’t go over too well. But Dr. Eric Wilke, with the … Continue reading →

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2:25 AM | Crohn’s, Cannabis and Israel

Of the many diseases out there, Crohn’s disease i [...]

May 21, 2013

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4:40 PM | Healthcare costs and tradeoffs: Air conditioners and teachers’ salaries edition

Ezra Klein talks to Bill Gates and Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber about investing in disease prevention and the tradeoffs in healthcare spending decisions.

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2:54 PM | Releasing Patients: When Doctors Need Reassurance

I will do anything not to be in a hospital bed. I checked myself out as quickly as I could each time I was admitted (three obstetrical admissions) and once, after a day-surgery procedure, got in trouble with the recovery room nurse because she found me out of bed, getting dressed, before I was supposed [...]

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12:00 PM | New Report Highlights Substance Abuse Dangers for Pregnant Teens

According to a new report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), of the 57,000 teenage females in substance abuse treatment programs each year, as much as 2000 (4 percent) are pregnant. The report, titled "Characteristics...

May 24, 2013

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