Health Headlines - August 7

Rabies Vaccinations Suggested for Nearly 1,000 Girl Scouts

In what is being called "the largest proactive rabies outreach effort ever conducted in the United States," local and federal health officials are recommending rabies vaccinations for almost 1,000 Girl Scouts who attended a Northern Virginia camp last month near Washington, D.C.

Although the chances that any of the campers contracted the usually fatal disease were very small, the Washington Post reports, the presence of bats in the camp sleeping shelters at Camp Potomac Woods caused Loudoun County officials to make the recommendation.

According to health officials, the Post reports, about 1 percent of bats are rabid, and none of the five bats caught after their presence was first reported had the rabies virus.

But because the disease is incurable once symptoms appear, officials thought it best to notify all parents, the newspaper reported.

"We think the risk is extremely small, but we can't say there is no risk," Loudoun County Health Department Director David Goodfriend is quoted as saying. "Really, at the end of the day, it's the parents' decision of what level of risk they are willing to bear."

According to the Post, at least 14 campers have begun the month-long vaccination series, which contains 6-to-nine shots. The estimated cost per person for the treatment is $2,000.

Second-hand Smoke Hikes Osteoporosis Risk

Dramatic results from a mainland China study have confirmed the association between inhaling second-hand smoke and increasing your risk of contracting the bone disease osteoporosis.

BBC News reports that a study presented at a recent meeting of the International Osteoporosis Foundation meeting in Toronto showed that pre-menopausal women tripled their chances of getting osteoporosis if they were regularly exposed to passive smoking, and even men -- whose osteoporosis rate is four times less -- increased their risk.

The study, conducted by a team of scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, examined 14,000 men and women in rural China who lived with at least one person who smoked every day.

They found that a pre-menopausal woman who lived with one smoker doubled her osteoporosis risk. If she lived with two more more smokers, the risk tripled, BBC News reports. The women also had a 2.6 times greater risk for a non-spine fracture, compared to non-smokers, the researchers found.

An estimated 10 million Americans suffer from osteoporosis, as well as another 18 million who have low bone mass. If calcium intake is not sufficient, osteoporosis may result. And while it is most often associated with post-menopausal women, more and more research indicates osteoporosis can occur much earlier in life.

Fruits and Vegetables Added to Food Subsidy Program

A U.S. government federal food subsidy program for poor mothers and children is adding fruits, vegetables and whole grains to its list, the first time in more than 30 years that any foods have been added.

But this doesn't mean that the government is going to pay more to qualifying families under the Women, Infants and Children program, the Associated Press reports. The program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, now pays $35 a month for items such as juice, cheese, and eggs. The addition of fruits and vegetables simply means that the amount allotted for the original items will be reduced so that fruits and vegetables can be included.

The program would pay for $6 worth of fruits and vegetables for children and $8 for women, according to the wire service. The changes were proposed by the federally chartered Institute of Medicine, which had been advocating dietary changes to reflect scientific research that found fruits and vegetables to be essential in a daily diet.

From 'Mud Mania' to Red Rash in One Week

Your mother's admonition that playing in the mud is unhealthy may have reached a new level of veracity.

The Associated Press reports that more than 300 people in the greater St. Louis area have called county health officials complaining about a rash that apparently comes from infected hair follicles.

What did all of these people have in common? They all attended a St. Louis County-sponsored event in late July known as the Mighty Mud Mania, in which thousands of people -- many of them children -- ran through a mud-filled obstacle course. Many of the children were totally covered in mud, the wire service reports.

The county health department told the A.P. that it started receiving calls early last week about a rash breaking out on the bodies of those who had taken part in the mud event. The health department identified at least 23 cases as folliculitis, an inflammation of hair follicles caused by contact with bacteria found in the soil, the wire service reports.

The condition isn't considered to be life-threatening, but one parent, Jason Crump, the father of two boys who had to take antibiotics to fight the rash, is quoted as saying, "I'll make my own mud pit in the backyard."

Second Test Confirms High Testosterone Levels in Cycling Champion

The bad news anticipated by many people in the cycling world became a reality today, when the results of a second test confirmed that Tour de France champion Floyd Landis's testosterone level was three times beyond acceptable levels and that part of the hormone found in his urine was synthetic.

As a result, the New York Times reports, Landis may lose his title and be banned from competitive cycling. Shortly after the results of the second test were announced, Landis's team, Phonak, fired him, the newspaper reported.

Results from the first test -- a routine urine analysis announced about a week after Landis won the Tour de France -- had shown abnormally high levels of the male hormone testosterone. Landis had responded that he always tested with high testosterone levels; it was part of his natural body chemistry, he said.

But the results also found that some of the hormone was synthetic, and Landis has not commented on that aspect, other than to say he never took any drugs.

The International Cycling Union announced Saturday that results from the second tests confirmed the result of an "adverse analytical finding" on July 26, following the analysis of sample A, the Times reports. The organization has recommended a disciplinary procedure against Landis.

Group Sues EPA Over Beach Pollution

An environmental group has sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, charging that it failed to protect beaches around the country from pollution and exposed swimmers to potential illnesses.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday by the Natural Resources Defense Council in U.S. District Court, the Associated Press reported.

Under a law passed by Congress in 2000, the EPA was supposed to update its beach water quality health standards by 2005. The lawsuit says the agency missed that deadline and its current standards are two decades old.

The Natural Resources Defense Council wants the court to order the EPA to complete the water quality studies and issue revised standards, the AP reported.

An EPA spokesman did not comment on the lawsuit but said the state of the nation's beach health "remains high," the AP reported.