Malaria remains a worldwide scourge, but scientists at Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute believe they have found a way to get the mosquitoes to help stop passing the disease to humans.
They have shown that they can genetically engineer Anopheles mosquitoes’ immune systems to block transmission of the malaria-causing parasite. Specifically, the scientists engineer the mosquitoes to produce a higher than normal level of an immune system protein called Re12 when they feed on human blood to boost the parasite fighting capabilities.

They found their modified mosquitoes live as long and can compete for survival with the disease-transmitting mosquitoes.

“Malaria is one of world's most serious public health problems,” said George Dimopoulos, senior author of the study and associate professor in the W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He notes that malaria afflicts more than 225 million people worldwide every year, and kills 800,000 of them. Many are children in Africa.

“Mosquitoes and the malaria parasite are becoming more resistant to insecticides and drugs, and new control methods are urgently needed,” he said. “We've taken a giant step toward the development of new mosquito strains that could be released to limit malaria transmission.”

He said more studies are needed to make sure the method is safe and fail-proof.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Environmental health
        

Baltimore has received a grant for $100,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency to fund a program called the Healthy Environments for City Kids Initiative. The money will go to the Baltimore City Health Department, one of 13 organizations out of 263 applicants, to reduce children’s exposure to environmental hazards.

The health department will get the funding over 18 months and will be aimed at supporting healthy child care and school environments, educating the public about risks and identifying hazards in the home  including lead, mold, pests, pesticides, carbon monoxide, and environmental tobacco smoke.

“In Baltimore, we are working collaboratively to build stronger, healthier neighborhoods and schools for our children—places where they can learn and thrive,” said Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake in a statement. “With this new funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, we can better protect our children now and in the future.”

October is Children’s Health Month, and EPA officials said it was a good time to focus attention on cleaning up hazards that affect kids more as they grow and develop. Baltimore City Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot said healthy children learn better so their environments are especially important.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 2:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Environmental health
        

Tomorrow is World Rabies Day, and local officials say it’s an opportunity to raise awareness about the impact of the disease on humans and animals.

Rabies is contracted when a rabid animal bites a person and transmits a deadly virus that attacks the nervous system. It’s preventable with prompt medical treatment -- a dose of rabies immunoglobulin followed by four-dose vaccine given over two weeks.

Still, more than 55,000 people die of rabies every year.

There have not been any cases of rabies in Maryland since 1976, but each year about 400 animals are confirmed rabid in the state and more than 1,000 residents get rabies vaccination after being exposed. This year, 224 animals have been confirmed rabid in the state.

Raccoons, bats and foxes make up most of the rabid animal cases. Cats are the most common rabid domestic animal reported in Maryland.

“Rabies is a preventable viral disease transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal,” Heather Hauck, director of the state Infectious Disease and Environmental Health Administration, said in a statement. “Maryland residents should protect themselves and their pets by having their pets vaccinated against rabies.”

Local health departments offer low-cost vaccination clinics. Health officials also offer these tips:

+Vaccinate your pets against rabies and don’t let them roam free.                                      +Keep your distance from wildlife.                                                                                   +Cover garbage cans securely and do not leave pet food outside.
+Don’t touch a bat that has gotten inside your home, but don’t let it go unless you’re sure no people or pets have had contact with it. (You can trap it under a box or bowl once it has landed to roost. Slide cardboard underneath to keep it inside and tape it shut before contacting the local health department.)
+If you or your pet has been exposed to a suspected rabid pet, get the owner’s contact information.
+Contact your local health department or animal control agency in the event of an exposure.

For more information, go to the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene website or www.worldrabiesday.org.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Environmental health
        

The Environmental Working Group is out with its sunscreen guide, as usual, they don’t recommend a lot of the products – only one in five.

There are not federal safety guidelines, so that left the group to do its own analysis about what is safe and effective. In all, the group rated more than 1,700 sunscreens, lip balms, and SPF moisturizers and makeup.

On the list of sunscreens the researchers liked included such brands as Alba, Badger, Kiss My Face and Sun Bunnies. Some ingredients they liked included zinc, titanium dioxide and avobenzone. They also like water-resistant creams that were 30 SPF.

Some things they didn’t like were oxybenzone, Vitamin A and added insect repellent. They also didn’t like sprays, powders and any SPF above 50 because they were dangerous or ineffective.

Of course, they also recommended staying out of the sun.

See the whole report here.

AP photo

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Cancer, Consumer health, Environmental health
        

Extreme weather brought on by global climate change could lead to more death, say researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The researchers looked at heat waves to make a more specific evaluation for one American city: Chicago.

They used models for climate change, as well as air pollution and mortality rates, and concluded that the city could experience between 166 and 2,217 more deaths a year because of heat waves for the final decades of the 21st century.

“For a major U.S. city like Chicago, the impact will likely be profound and potentially devastating,” Roger Peng, lead author of the study and associate professor in the department of biostatistics, said in a statement. “We would expect the impact to be less severe with mitigation efforts including lowering CO2 emissions.”

For the study, published in the Mary 1 journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the researchers developed three climate change scenarios for 2081 to 2100 based on estimates on the climate change models and other data. Some 53 people died a year from heat waves from 1987 to 2005, but 166 to 2,217 died in the models that couldn’t be explained by higher population.

Posted by Meredith Cohn at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Environmental health