Health Glance
Around 75 percent of farmworkers hired in the United States lack health insurance, the highest proportion of any major occupational category.
More than 90 percent of them are foreign born (most from Mexico), young, married and Spanish-speaking. They toil in the fields so they can send money back home to support their families.
Sadly, they are five times more likely to have an occupational fatality than workers in “all industries combined,” says a new report by the Kresge Foundation on health-related inequities among farmworkers and the resurgence of labor-intensive agriculture.
Farmworkers Feed Nation, But Few Have Health Care
Heart repair breakthroughs replace surgeon's knife
Have a heart problem? If it's fixable, there's a good chance it can be done without surgery, using tiny tools and devices that are pushed through tubes into blood vessels.
Heart care is in the midst of a transformation. Many problems that once required sawing through the breastbone and opening up the chest for open heart surgery now can be treated with a nip, twist or patch through a tube.
Workers at two Google office buildings were exposed to TCE, a hazardous chemical solvent
Employees at Google offices near the tech giant’s California headquarters were exposed to high levels of hazardous chemicals for at least two months, according to an new eye-opening investigative report.
Workers at the Internet company’s two satellite office buildings in Mountain View, Calif., were exposed to amounts of trichloroethylene, otherwise known as TCE, that exceeded levels deemed safe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to an EPA report obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR).
Colorado docs chafe at secrecy oath needed for access to fracking chemical list
Colorado doctors are challenging a confidentiality pledge they must sign to get information on chemicals used by the oil and gas industry — information they may need to treat patients and protect public health.
A state requirement that doctors sign Form 35, developed last year by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, aims to protect industry trade secrets while also letting doctors fulfill duties.
Health officials: 1 in 50 school kids have autism
A government survey of parents says 1 in 50 U.S. schoolchildren has autism, surpassing another federal estimate for the disorder.
Health officials say the new number doesn't mean autism is occurring more often. But it does suggest that doctors are diagnosing autism more frequently, especially in children with milder problems.
The earlier government estimate of 1 in 88 comes from a study that many consider more rigorous. It looks at medical and school records instead of relying on parents.
Bloomberg Seeks to Ban Cigarette Displays in NYC’s Stores
Mayor Michael Bloomberg called for legislation to make New York the first U.S. city to require stores to conceal tobacco products, a week after a court struck down his ban on the sale of large sugary beverages.
Bloomberg’s latest health initiative would mandate that tobacco products such as cigarettes be kept in cabinets, drawers, under the counter, behind a curtain or in any other concealed location. It wouldn’t pertain to advertising, leading a spokesman for the state’s convenience stores to question its logic and effectiveness.
Bee Venom Destroys HIV And Spares Surrounding Cells
Nanoparticles containing bee venom toxin melittin can destroy human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while at the same time leaving surrounding cells unharmed, scientists from Washington University School of Medicine reported in the March 2013 issue of Antiviral Therapy.
The researchers said that their finding is a major step toward creating a vaginal gel that can prevent HIV spread. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
Joshua L. Hood, MD, PhD, a research instructor in medicine, said: "Our hope is that in places where HIV is running rampant, people could use this gel as a preventive measure to stop the initial infection."
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