Health Headlines - August 20

New Test May Be Able to Detect Anthrax in Less Than an Hour

One of the biggest difficulties public health authorities would have in combating a widespread anthrax attack would be in quickly being able to diagnose who had it.

Now, Swiss researchers say they may have found a way to easily test for anthrax.

BBC News reports that researchers from Bern University have developed a molecule in laboratory mice that quickly identifies the deadly anthrax bacterium.

In doing so, says lead researcher Peter Seeberger, a test may be completed in less than an hour on a person suspected of having come in contact with anthrax spores. Additionally, anthrax researcher Jim Uhl from the Mayo Clinic says that such a test may be useful in testing metropolitan areas for anthrax.

"Tests like this might have great utility for cities that are testing the air. People could develop assays that could sit on top of buildings and sniff out the air for anthrax," BBC News quotes Uhl as saying.

The findings were published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

Agent Orange Ruling May Mean Benefits for Thousands More Viet Vets

A federal appeals court has opened the door for a whole new category Vietnam veterans to receive medical benefits for exposure to Agent Orange, a widely-used defoliate that has caused illness and disability for thousands of soldiers who served in Vietnam.

The Associated Press reports that the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a former sailor who served aboard an ammunition ship off the South Vietnam coast but was never in Vietnam itself.

The plaintiff, Jonathan L. Haas, had been denied his claim for benefits by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the wire service reported. As with many veterans who had been part of the land operations in Vietnam, Haas claimed Agent Orange exposure was responsible for his diabetes, nerve damage and loss of eyesight.

The basis for his claim was that so much Agent Orange was sprayed in the jungles that it formed into clouds, drifted out to sea and exposed his ship and everyone on it to the same toxic chemicals that foot soldiers experienced.

"Veterans serving on vessels in close proximity to land would have the same risk of exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange as veterans serving on adjacent land, or an even greater risk than that borne by those veterans who may have visited and set foot on the land of the Republic of Vietnam only briefly," the wire service quotes Judge William A. Moorman as writing in the courts decision.

While thousands of veterans -- most of them from the U.S. Navy -- may qualify, the A.P. reports that they should file their applications quickly, because the court was vague on whether the V.A. had the right to rewrite the regulations so that those serving on boats could be excluded.

Maker of 'Morning-After' Pill Reapplies to FDA

The maker of the controversial Plan B "morning-after" pill has resubmitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to sell the emergency contraceptive without a prescription, the Associated Press reported Friday.

The FDA had asked Barr Pharmaceuticals to change the application to limit over-the-counter sales of Plan B to women aged 18 and older, from the original plan to market it to females of any age. Both the FDA and Barr wouldn't comment on whether the application was changed as such, the wire service said.

Plan B is now available in most states only by prescription. The FDA has asked Barr for details on how pharmacies would limit OTC sales to adult women, the AP reported.

"Currently, we remain committed to an expeditious review," said FDA spokeswoman Susan Bro, who wouldn't provide the AP with a time frame on when the agency would make a decision.

Plan B, taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, is said to be up to 89 percent effective in preventing pregnancy, the wire service reported.

Combination Chemotherapy Benefits Lung Cancer Patients

Combination chemotherapy with vinorelbine and cisplatin after tumor removal surgery lengthened lung cancer patient survival by 8 percent, says a French study published in the The Lancet Oncology journal.

The trial included 840 patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of lung cancer.

"Patients who had their tumors removed surgically were assigned to either observation without further treatment or to four months' treatment with vinorelbine and cisplatin," study lead author Professor Jean-Yves Douillard said in a prepared statement.

"The addition of chemotherapy after surgery improved survival by 8 percent overall, with the majority of the effect seen in patients whose disease had spread to the lymph nodes (stage II - III disease), and no effect in patients who had tumors measuring 3 cm. or larger that had not spread to the lymph nodes," he said.

Virus Mixture Safe to Use on Meats and Poultry: FDA

A mixture of six bacteria-eating viruses is safe to spray on meats and poultry in order to destroy strains of a dangerous bacterium that can cause serious illness and death, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled Friday.

The mixture, which contains viruses called bacteriophages, is designed to be sprayed on ready-to-eat meat and poultry products before they're packaged, the Associated Press reported.

The viruses target Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause a serious infection called listeriosis. Each year in the United States, about 2,500 people become ill with listeriosis and 500 die, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pregnant women, newborns, and people with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk of listeriosis.

The virus mixture is made by Intralytix Inc. of Baltimore. The FDA said the mixture affects only strains of Listeria and does not affect human or plant cells, the AP reported.

U.S. Teens Party with Drugs and Alcohol Under Parents' Noses

Many American teens party with drugs and alcohol even when parents are at home, according to a new study by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

The survey included 1,297 young people, aged 12 to 17. Nearly a third of them reported using alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, Ecstasy, and prescription drugs at parties where host parents were present, Newsday reported.

Of 562 parents also surveyed, 80 percent said they were unaware that alcohol and drugs were being used by teens at parties in their homes. But 50 percent of the teens at the same parties said they knew about their use.

"That shows just how out of touch the parents are," Joseph A. Califano, chairman and president of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, told Newsday.

The amount of drug and alcohol use apparently was much higher when parents weren't home, the survey found. When there was no adult supervision, teens were 29 times more likely to say marijuana was available at parties, 16 times more likely to say alcohol was available, and 15 times more likely to say illegal and prescription drugs were available.