Health & Wellness
Pealthbeat
Meningitis kills 544 in Burkina Faso
I
, I OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (PANA) - At least
3,779 cases of meningitis, including 544 deaths, were recorded
in Burkina Faso in the past two-and-half months, the ministry of
health reported.
Burkinabe health ministry's Dr Jean Gahriel Woango told a
news conference that the mortality rate of the epidemic in its
,11th week is 15.17 percent for 12 of Burkina Faso's 45
provinces so far affected,
Woango said government has set up crisis cells in Oua
gadougou and most areas affected by the epidemic, while there
is free immunization of inhabitants in those areas. In addition to
immunization, the crisis cells sensitize inhabitants by insisting
on the practice of hygiene.
Meanwhile, the director of discount store for generic drugs,
Lazare Bance, said 800.000 doses of vaccine are available in the
country, while WHO has donated 1.9 million doses against
meningitis.
In 2001, Burkina Faso recorded some 13.293 cases of
meningitis, including 1.854 deaths or a mortality rate of 14 per
? ? cent.
Dentist's discovery could soon
make candy good for teeth
? |?' LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Candy may soon be good for your
? ? teeth, if the work of Lincoln native and dental researcher Max
Anderson proves successful.
Anderson, who works for dental health plan company Wash
ington Dental Service, predicted a new treatment he is working
on will tum cavities into historical curiosities within a decade.
"We'll see a huge decrease in the number of cavities in the
treated population." said Anderson, a graduate of the University
of Nebraska Medical Center's College of Dentistry.
Anderson is working with a UCLA researcher on an herb
based mixture that kills bacteria that cause cavities and gum dis
ease. He believes the concoction could be used in toothpaste,
mouthwash, breath mints, pet food - even candy.
He declined to name the four herbs involved until patents are
approved.
The compound also can interrupt the transfer of cavity-caus
ing bacteria from mother to baby, which could protect children
for a lifetime, Anderson said.
Some Florida researchers are using genetically altered
strains of a cavity-fighting bacteria that show promise in ani
mals, but human trials have not begun. Approval from the Food
and Drug Administration could take up to 10 years.
Anderson's compound could be available within one or two
years, because herbal compounds don't require the same type of
FDA approval as medicines, he said.
Health crisis looms for AIDS orphans
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (GIN) - Government
resources may be unable to meet the health and welfare needs
, posed by an estimated 700,000 AIDS orphans, half of whom
may be infected with HIV. according to a new study.
In a paper presented last week at a conference on Chil
dren. Aids and Communal Coping Strategies, the head of
University of Fort Hare's Center for Development Studies,
- Pricilla Monyai. warned that with the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
" African governments and their populations faced health and
' welfare demands "way out of proportion with available
? resources."
The conference, hosted by the university, drew represen
tatives from Botswana, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and
Norway. It aims to develop the foundations for a regional
research program on communal coping strategies of children
affected by HIV/AIDS.
Monyai pointed out that Africa had lost more than 17 mil
lion people to AIDS, the southern African region accounted
for 98 percent of all new infections, with South Africa "tak
ing the lead" in the rate of daily infections.
According to UNAIDS 1999 figures, of the 13.1-million
children orphaned by AIDS globally, 12 million lived in
Africa.
"Their number is escalating and is posing a serious threat
to the already over-burdened and under-resourced health sys
tems in many African countries," said Monyai.
She said the idea behind the project was to look at how
local communities and families infected and affected by
HIV/AIDS collectively coped with the consequences of the
disease, and the extent to which they were able to care for the
children in need.
"The social conditions and needs of children and families
in local communities affected by HIV/AIDS are complex and
need to be captured."
She said current research showed that children orphaned
by AIDS suffered "cumulative pain and stress" as a result of
the struggle to survive.
Grief and confusion through the loss of a loved one and
the struggle to survive was sometimes compounded by preju
dice and exclusion. Many orphaned by AIDS were left strug
gling, neglected and ill.
Public beach sand bound
for private, eroding beach
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Sand from a public beach
will be used to renourish an eroding beach at the private
Wild Dunes Resort after the state Department of Health and
Environmental Control upheld a challenged permit.
DHEC's 7-4 decision came after Dr. James W. Smiley
and D. Reid Wiseman challenged an open-ended permit
issued last year to Wild Dunes Community Alsocjation.
High wind drives surf beneath homes and spreads sand 10
inches thick on roads.
DHEC board member John P. Edwards said the project is
not in the public interest. "I can't understand how Wild
Dunes can get public sand for free from a public beach," he
said.
An administrative law judge ruled last year that Smiley
and Reid didn't have anything at stake in the issue and
allowed the permit to go forward.
Smiley said the renourishment project was the equiva
lent of "robbing Peter to pay Paul. " He says the project will
disrupt his morning jogs on the public beach. "This is where
I live, and this is where 1 have jogged for 20 years.
Nursing shortage to be researched
File photo
Researchers are trying to understand how nursing staffs are
organized in hospitals to take care of patients and examine
other staffing and patient outcome issues.
I NC NhWS SERVICES
CHAPEL HILI. - Medica
tion errors, falls hospitalized
patients suffer, job turnover in
nursing staff and patient satisfac
tion across the United States are
among subjects University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill
faculty will investigate through a
new $2.5 million grant from the
National Institute of Nursing
Research.
"We are experiencing an
increasing shortage of fegistered
nurses," said Dr. Barbara A.
Mark, Sarah Frances Russell
professor of nursing at the UNC
School of Nursing. "There has
been a lot of attention in the past
few years about nursing units
being short-staffed and about
how staffing affects the quality
of patient care.
"Some people believe that
there aren't enough nurses in (
acute care hospitals to take ade
quate care of patients. It doesn't
look like the situation is going to
improve anytime soon and. in
fact, is likely to get worse."
In their study, which is a five
year continuation of a project
that began in 1995. Mark and
colleagues are trying to under
stand how nursing staffs are
organized in hospitals to help
take care of patients and examine
other staffing and patient out
comes issues, she said. With
nurses in short supply, it's impor
tant to know more about their
contributions to patient care
quality.
Researchers will concentrate
on 160 acute care hospitals and
collect a wealth of information
on patients' experiences, includ
ing satisfaction with pain man
agement and how nurses help
relieve distressing symptoms,
she said. They also will examine
how registered nurses feel about
their jobs, decision-making
responsibilities and relationships
with physicians, social workers,
physical therapists and others
involved in patient care.
"In the interest of patient
safety and satisfaction, it's
important that we develop a bet
ter understanding of what's hap
pening and what needs to
change," she said. "Fewer people
are entering nursing school, and
more nurses are reaching retire
ment age. Also, baby boomers
are starting to get old and will
need hospital care in coming
years. The nation needs to be
ready for them."
Since the Institute of Medi
cine issfcd reports indicating
that tens of thousands of impor
tant mistakes are made in U.S.
hospitals every year, the UNC
faculty members also want to
learn how nursing staff levels
affect such errors. Mark said.
"When we are finished, we
hope to have a better idea of how
nursing contributes to the quality
of health care and patient safety,"
she said.'"From that, .we plan to
create interventions hospitals can
use to improve the quality of care
and patient safety."
Already, more than 130 U.S.
hospitals have agreed to partici
pate in the effort, Mark said. All
information from hospitals,
patients, nurses and others will
remain confidential.
Others participating in the
research are Drs. Cheryl Jones,
associate professor of nursing;
Sharon Eck, clinical director of
the UNC Women's Hospital; and
Michael J. Belyea. research asso
ciate professor of nursing.
Postpartum depression
Mothers of newborns can experience
mild to severe physical, emotional
and behavioral changes, official says
? BY PAUL COLLINS
THE CHRONICLE
Andy Hagler. executive
director of the Mental Health
Association of Forsyth County
Inc.. said on Friday that, on a per
sonal level, he was shocked that
a Texas jury, this month, found
Andrea
Yates
guilty of
capital
murder
for
drown -
ing her
five chil
dren.
" . I
was just
really
surprised
because of her history of mental
illness, because it is very obvious
that she had mental illness, and
because this is a woman who
needed help....Obviously there
had been some (mental health)
treatment failure."
Hagler said, "I think the sad
part is I feel like the system let
her down. Apparently she did try
to get help and that she had just
not received the care she should
have."
Hagler said, "I'm glad that
she didn't get the death penalty
(she was sentenced to life in
prison). As an advocate (a mental
health advocate), I hope she is
going to get, in prison, the men
tal health help she needs."
According to a Reuters new
report, mental health experts tes
tified Yates was suffering from
demonic delusions because of a
combination of schizophrenia
and postpartum depression that
had not been properly treated.
She had twice tried suicide and
been in and out of mental hospi
tals in the two years before she
drowned her children.
What is postpar
tum depression
(PPD)?
Hagler said that having a
baby can be very exciting and ?
joyous for the mother, but it also
can be stressful. According to the
Office on Women's Health, the
turmoil of pregnancy and child
birth can leave many mothers
said, anxious, afraid and con
fused. A lot of these feelings are
common and sometimes are dis
missed as normal. But these feel
ings should not just he dismissed,
because the mother may be suf
fering from postpartum depres
sion, which describes a range of
physical, emotional and behav
ioral changes that many new
mothers experience after their
babies are bom. The symptoms
can range from mild to severe.
There are several ranges of
postpartum conditions:
The first range is known as
"the baby blues," or postpartum
blues. This condition occurs in
many mothers in the days imme
diately after childbirth. It is char
acterized by sudden mood
swings, ranging from euphoria to
intense sadness. Symptoms may
include crying for no apparent
reason, impatience, irritability,
restlessness, anxiety, loneliness,
sadness. low self-esteem,
increased sensitivity and height
ened feelings of vulnerability.
Baby blues can last as short
as a few hours or as long as one
or two weeks after delivery. The
See PPD on C4
Hagler
Photo by Zuma Prcsb
Andrea Yates, husband Rusty and four of their children
Bill Gates grants
Kenya $2 million
to fight AIDS
SP|C|A1 Id I III CHRONICLE
NAIROBI, Kenya
(PANA) - American comput
er software tycoon. Bill Gates
has announced a $2 million
grant to Kenya to boost the
fight against sexually trans
mitted infections (STI),
including HIV/AIDSy
The tycoon's father. Bill
Gates Sr.. made the
announcement in Nairobi on
behalf of the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation.
Half of the money will go
to support the government's
efforts in
combating
STI/AIDS.
while
another
million
will sup
port the
faculty of
health's
programs
at the Moi
Universi
Bill Gates Sr.. accompa
nied by former U.S. President
Set Gates on C5
Gates
Suicide by gun
for black males
&
climbed sharply
BY MARYCLAIRE DALE |
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHILADELPHIA - The
rale of suicide by gun among
black male teen-agers nearly
quadrupled between 1979 and
1994 before falling off some
what in the late 1990s,
according to a study.
The rate among white
male teen-agers climbed by
more than a third during the
period before dropping back
some.
Traditionally, blacks have
.m. w
hiad much lower suicide rates
[han whites, hut the availabil
ity of guns may help account
for the narrowing of the gap
imong young men,
researchers said
"One of the factors i^ the
easy availability of firearms,
especially when suicjjj^ is
impulsive behavior," said for
mer Surgeon General iftaVid
Satcher. now a visiting 'feWow
kvith the Kaiser Family Foun
dation. He was (nof involved
with the study,' *?
Set Suicide on C5