Health Headlines - December 3

Indonesian Woman Dies of Bird Flu

Indonesian health officials have confirmed that a woman who died earlier this week was killed by bird flu, making her the country's eighth victim of the disease.

Tests done in Hong Kong showed that the 25-year-old woman died from the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu, BBC News reported.

The woman had had contact with dead chickens before being admitted to a Jakarta hospital, the news service said.

The H5N1 bird flu virus has killed nearly 70 people in South East Asia -- most of them in Vietnam and Thailand -- since the outbreak began in 2003.

Meanwhile, officials in Ukraine acknowledged Saturday that country's first outbreak of bird flu, discovered among some 1,500 dead chickens and geese in the Black Sea region of Crimea, the Associated Press reported.

The dead birds, mostly domesticated chickens and geese, tested positive for the H5 type of bird flu, the Agriculture Ministry said. Samples would be sent to laboratories in Italy and England for tests to determine whether it is the H5N1 strain, the AP said.

While person-to-person transmission of the H5N1 strain is rare, health officials are worried that the germ could mutate, making human transmission much easier, leading to a global pandemic of the disease.

Heparin Antibodies May Pose Risk for Heart-Surgery Patients

Patients who develop antibodies to the anti-clotting drug heparin nearly double their risk of death or serious complication after heart surgery, a new study suggests.

"Complications after heart surgery are typically attributed to the surgery alone," said Dr. Thomas Slaughter, co-principal investigator on the project and a professor of anesthesiology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. "Our study examined whether development of heparin antibodies before surgery poses an independent risk."

The study, which involved 466 patients scheduled to undergo either coronary artery bypass or valve replacement surgery, was done by investigators at Wake Forest University Baptist and Duke University medical centers. It's the first study to demonstrate a relationship between heparin antibodies and complications after cardiac surgery, the researchers said.

Heparin is administered intravenously during many procedures, including kidney dialysis, heart catheterization or angioplasty, as well as during heart and vascular surgeries. Estimates suggest that nearly half of patients treated with heparin develop the antibodies, which may last for months.

The researchers theorized that in patients with heparin antibodies, subsequent treatment with heparin activates blood components that cause clotting and inflammation, increasing the risk for heart attacks, heart rhythm problems, strokes and other complications.

"While it is too early to recommend universal testing for the antibodies, our study is the most definitive evidence to date that heparin antibodies increase the risk for death and complications associated with cardiac surgery," Slaughter said.

The study results appear in the December issue of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Face Transplant Patient's First Word is 'Merci'

The first word spoken by a French woman who had the world's first partial face transplant was "merci," one of her doctors said at a news conference Friday in Lyon.

The surgeons, Dr. Jean-Michel Dubernard and Dr. Bernard Devauchelle, said that the 38-year-old woman regained consciousness 24 hours after Sunday's transplant and there were no post-surgical problems, the Associated Press reported.

The woman, whose identity hasn't been disclosed, suffered severe facial injuries in May when she was attacked by a dog. The damage made it difficult for her to speak and eat. Doctors transplanted a section of nose, lips and chin that were taken from a brain-dead woman.

The transplant triggered a debate over ethics. One French surgeon charged that the transplant team violated advice from the French medical ethics panel because they didn't first attempt reconstructive surgery on the woman's face.

However, a member of the committee said that at long as the face transplant was not total, it was not unethical, the AP reported.

Carine Camby, director-general of the government agency that coordinates organ procurement, said that normal reconstructive surgery could not have been used in this case. "It is precisely because there was no way to restore the functions of this patient by normal plastic surgery that we attempted this transplant," Camby said. "She could no longer eat normally, she had great difficulty speaking, and there is no possibility with plastic surgery today to repair the muscles around the mouth, which allow people to articulate when they speak and not spit out food when they eat."

Many U.S. Companies Lack Flu Pandemic Plan

Many large businesses in the United States don't have a plan to keep operating during a flu pandemic, says a survey released Friday.

The survey of some of the largest U.S. companies found that two-thirds weren't adequately prepared to protect themselves during a pandemic and 39 percent said there wasn't much they could do to prepare, the Associated Press reported.

The results also cast doubt on whether companies would follow federal government advice to encourage potentially contagious workers to stay at home in order to prevent them from infecting co-workers.

According to the survey, 63 percent of companies said they were undecided and 10 percent said they wouldn't waive sick-leave restrictions to persuade employees with flu-like symptoms to stay home, the AP reported.

"Corporate America is like everybody -- they read it and see it on television but they really can't completely digest it," Tommy Thompson, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, said in regard to the threat of a flu pandemic.

The survey was sponsored by his new industry think-tank, which is part of Deloitte & Touche USA.

The U.S. federal government plans next week to release a checklist of business pandemic preparations, including having contingency plans for doing without 10 percent to 20 percent of their work force for as long as two to four weeks, the AP reported.

WHO Won't Hire Smokers

The World Health Organization announced Friday that it will no longer hire smokers, a move it says is part of its commitment to discourage tobacco use.

Effective immediately, all job vacancy notices include a line explaining that the WHO doesn't promote tobacco use or recruit smokers. Job seekers are asked if they smoke or use other tobacco products. If they answer "yes," the job application process is halted, the Associated Press reported.

"WHO has taken a very public lead in the fight against tobacco use. As a matter of principle, WHO does not want to recruit smokers," spokesman Iain Simpson told the AP.

Current staffers who smoke or use tobacco products won't be penalized. However, they're not allowed to smoke on WHO premises.

This move is legal under international law and applies to all WHO sites worldwide.

Food Fact:
Go with the grain.

Older women who eat the right amount of whole grains cut their risk of a fatal heart attack significantly. At ages 55 - 69, women who eat whole grains for at least three of their daily carbohydrate servings were found to be in better heart health during the next 10 years. Whole grain breads, crackers and cereals -- made from grains that have not been stripped of their bran and germ -- protect against heart disease and diabetes. It's unclear which part of the whole grain -- the fiber, the vitamin E, the folate, the magnesium or some of the health-protective phytochemicals -- provides the health benefits. Read labels carefully. Look for "whole-grain" or "whole-wheat flour" as the first or second ingredient.

Fitness Tip of the day:
Getting to know you.

Saying "Hi" to your aerobics instructor may improve your group fitness experience. If you are joining a group exercise class for the first time, let your instructor know. Doing so will help the instructor ensure you get the most out of the class, and help protect you from injuries.

FAQ of the day:
Does fiber prevent colon cancer?

Many studies find a link between higher fiber intake and lower colon cancer risk, but not all do. It's possible that it's the cancer-fighting phytochemicals in fruits and vegetables rather than the fiber that are most protective. But one thing seems clear: People who eat more fiber-rich fruits and vegetables have much lower risk of colon cancer.