Yahoo! Canada News: Health

China steps up battle against epidemics in quake zone: official

Sat, 17 May 2008 11:53:00 GMT

AFP - BEIJING (AFP) - The fight against contagious diseases is now a top priority after China's massive earthquake, with the rotting carcasses of millions of dead animals adding to the dangers, officials said Saturday.

Nearly 20 percent of Japanese adults have considered suicide: poll

Sat, 17 May 2008 06:27:00 GMT

AFP - TOKYO (AFP) - Almost 20 percent of Japanese adults have considered killing themselves, a survey has found, with half the respondents saying movies and television are contributing to the high suicide rate.

Alberta's new super health board will sign contract banning deficits

Sat, 17 May 2008 01:37:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - CALGARY - Alberta's firebrand health minister is setting up the province's multibillion-dollar health care delivery system to run like a corporation to cut waiting times and control spiralling costs.

Syringe reuse linked to hepatitis C outbreak in Las Vegas, officials say

Fri, 16 May 2008 23:12:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - RENO, Nev. - U.S. health officials say a hepatitis C outbreak affecting more than 80 people and exposing tens of thousands more was caused by workers reusing syringes at a Las Vegas clinic.

Ottawa wants silicone fluids used in breast implants deemed toxic

Fri, 16 May 2008 21:37:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - OTTAWA - The federal government is recommending three building blocks of silicone found in some breast implants be deemed toxic.

New SKorean law tightens rules on cloning

Fri, 16 May 2008 21:06:00 GMT

AFP - SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea's parliament on Friday passed a law to regulate research into cloning, following a scandal in which a now-disgraced expert claimed to have made the first human clone stem cells.

Guards at Cape Breton jail refusing to work over discovery of asbestos

Fri, 16 May 2008 19:08:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - SYDNEY, N.S. - Some guards at the Cape Breton Correctional Facility were refusing to work Friday over the discovery of asbestos in the provincial jail where 76 inmates are being held.

FDA stresses birth defect, miscarriage risks with Roche drug

Fri, 16 May 2008 18:16:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - WASHINGTON - U.S. health regulators are reiterating their warning that two organ transplant drugs from Roche and Novartis can cause miscarriages and birth defects.

Canada scraps plans for new reactors for making medical isotopes

Fri, 16 May 2008 16:53:00 GMT

AFP - OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada announced Friday it is scrapping development of two new nuclear reactors that would have supplied radioactive materials, essential for medical tests, to most of the world.

Death toll hits 43 in China from hand, foot and mouth disease virus

Fri, 16 May 2008 10:43:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - BEIJING - A report says the death toll rose to 43 from the hand, foot and mouth disease virus that has sickened tens of thousands of children across China.

Vitamin D deficiency linked to breast cancer in new study

Fri, 16 May 2008 09:49:00 GMT

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - Women deficient in vitamin D at the time of a breast cancer diagnosis are more likely to die or see the tumor spread, a Canadian study published in the United States has shown.

Province suspends admissions at nursing home as coroner investigates deaths

Fri, 16 May 2008 02:17:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - A Toronto nursing home is barred from accepting new residents until it proves it is complying with Ontario law after the deaths of two residents prompted coroner's investigations, Health Minister George Smitherman said Thursday.

Shingles shots urged for those 60 and up, U.S. says

Fri, 16 May 2008 01:58:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - ATLANTA - People 60 and older should get a one-time shingles shot that can help prevent the painful rash, U.S. health officials are recommending.

Study finds heart risks in young cancer survivors

Fri, 16 May 2008 01:56:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - Children who survive cancer face a much greater risk of heart problems later in life than their brothers and sisters who did not have cancer, new research shows.

More cancer patients having whole breast removed

Fri, 16 May 2008 01:55:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - A growing number of women with early stage breast cancer seem to be choosing to have the whole breast removed instead of just the cancerous lump, doctors are reporting.

Vitamin D deficiency linked to poorer breast cancer outcomes: study

Fri, 16 May 2008 01:39:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - Women who are deficient in vitamin D when diagnosed with breast cancer may have a poorer prognosis compared to those with optimal amounts of the sunshine nutrient in their blood, a Canadian study suggests.

Autism researchers say eye tracker technology may lead to earlier diagnosis

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:06:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - Eye tracker technology used to study two groups of babies - either at high or low risk of developing autism - shows differences between the groups at nine months of age, researchers said Thursday.

Canadian health-care systems should cover costs of IVF treatment: ethicist

Thu, 15 May 2008 22:28:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - Health-care systems in Canada should follow the example set by those of other developed countries and fund the cost of in-vitro fertilization for women having difficulty conceiving, a University of Western Ontario medical ethicist argues in a commentary published Thursday.

Ontario's wait times strategy leaves some patients waiting longer: OMA

Thu, 15 May 2008 21:26:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - The Ontario government's focus on reducing wait times in key areas such as hip and knee replacements is leaving people with bad backs, shoulder problems and other health issues farther behind, the president of the Ontario Medical Association said Thursday.

Indonesia agrees to hand over bird flu data for new global database

Thu, 15 May 2008 20:48:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia announced Thursday it would start sharing all information about its bird flu cases with a new global database to monitor whether the disease is mutating into a dangerous pandemic strain.

Conservatives call for more government action on C. difficile

Thu, 15 May 2008 20:28:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - Ontario must launch an independent investigation into the C. difficile outbreak that has reportedly claimed some 125 lives at five hospitals over the last 20 months, the Progressive Conservatives demanded Thursday.

Drug spending rose to $27b last year on backs of new market entries

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:53:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - OTTAWA - Spending on prescribed and over-the-counter drugs in Canada outpaced overall health spending last year, and grew faster than the rate of inflation, new figures show.

HIV drug linked to serious liver side-effects, Health Canada warns

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:39:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - Health Canada and pharmaceutical company Janssen-Ortho are warning people taking the HIV drug Prezista that the drug can cause serious liver side-effects.

Ontario will resume coverage of sexual reassignment surgery: Smitherman

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:54:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - Ontario will soon join other provinces in providing coverage for sex-change surgery under the province's health insurance plan, Health Minister George Smitherman confirmed Thursday.

South African military AIDS policy faces court challenge

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:39:00 GMT

AFP - PRETORIA (AFP) - The South African military's blanket exclusions of HIV positive members is not medically justified and ignores government policy, lawyers for service personnel union told a court Thursday.

Hockey artist raises funds after stepdaughter diagnosed with cancer

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:16:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - Murray Henderson has created numerous paintings over the years that combined his passion for hockey and aiding charities, including the NHL's Hockey Fights Cancer campaign.

Want to lose weight? Study suggests a liquid lunch

Thu, 15 May 2008 18:12:00 GMT

AFP - GENEVA (AFP) - A "liquid lunch" could no longer mean a few pints down the pub, but instead a healthy way to lose weight, according to a study presented Thursday by scientists from food giant Unilever.

Montreal sex-change clinic attracting patients from around the world

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:29:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - MONTREAL - Cynthia Tebbetts's fingers fidgeted on the steering wheel during the four-hour drive from New Hampshire to Montreal.

Emergency contraception drug, Plan B, coming out from behind the counter

Thu, 15 May 2008 17:24:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - The emergency contraceptive drug known as Plan B will likely be coming out from behind the pharmacy counter.

E. coli concerns force recall of ground meat sold in several B.C. locations

Thu, 15 May 2008 16:00:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - OTTAWA - Concern about possible E. coli contamination has prompted the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to issue a recall for various packages of fresh and frozen ground meat sold at stores around B.C.

Greek doctors remove twin from nine-year-old girl

Thu, 15 May 2008 15:21:00 GMT

AFP - LARISSA, Greece (AFP) - Surgeons have removed the foetus of an undeveloped twin from the stomach of a nine-year-old Greek girl, doctors said Thursday.

Childhood obesity levelling in France: studies

Thu, 15 May 2008 10:16:00 GMT

AFP - GENEVA (AFP) - Childhood obesity may be levelling in France in contrast to the general trend in Europe where more youngsters are growing fat, according to two new studies presented Thursday.

SKorea to build bird flu vaccine factory next year: ministry

Thu, 15 May 2008 09:31:00 GMT

AFP - SEOUL (AFP) - South Korea will build its own factory to produce human bird flu vaccine, health officials said Thursday as authorities battled the country's worst outbreak among poultry.

Terminal Alzheimer's victim pleads for US research funds

Thu, 15 May 2008 09:10:00 GMT

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - Chuck Jackson has lived his entire life the same way four generations of his family have before him: with a death sentence from Alzheimer's disease hanging over his head.

Parents of 16-year-old with rare heart condition keep vigil pending transplant

Wed, 14 May 2008 17:09:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - MONTREAL - The father of a 16-year-old Quebec girl says he was totally surprised to learn the teen's heart stopped after she was hospitalized with what started as a simple viral infection.

Alberta to cut health administration jobs and spend more on patient care

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:04:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - EDMONTON - Albertans are complaining about a health system too heavily weighted with administration staff, so a new round of restructuring will slash some of these jobs, says Premier Ed Stelmach.

Overworked nurses acknowledge making medication errors in caring for patients

Wed, 14 May 2008 23:35:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - Nearly one-fifth of the nurses in hospitals across the country acknowledge making errors when giving patients medications, with understaffing and working too much overtime primarily blamed for the likelihood of those mistakes occurring, a report by Statistics Canada says.

Bayer anti-bleeding drug linked to 50% higher death rate than alternatives

Wed, 14 May 2008 23:31:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TORONTO - An expensive drug used to minimize severe bleeding during heart surgery actually significantly increased the risk that patients would die during surgery or in the 30 days following, a Canadian study comparing the drug to two far cheaper alternatives shows.

Former Justice O'Connor makes personal plea to Congress for Alzheimer's aid

Wed, 14 May 2008 21:32:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - WASHINGTON - The first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court is now the country's most prominent Alzheimer's caregiver.

Review of Winnipeg pathologist finds no patients so far needing further treatment

Wed, 14 May 2008 21:13:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - WINNIPEG - A review into a Winnipeg pathologist's work hasn't uncovered any patients so far who needed more cancer treatment because of incorrect or incomplete test results.

Drug aprotinin boosts risk of death: study

Wed, 14 May 2008 21:08:00 GMT

AFP - WASHINGTON (AFP) - Aprotinin, a drug often used to prevent blood loss during heart surgery, boosts the risk of death by 50 percent, a major clinical study done in Canada and published in the United States Wednesday found confirming preliminary data.

Merck says appeals court has overturned verdict in Vioxx case

Wed, 14 May 2008 20:07:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - TRENTON, N.J. - A Texas appeals court has overturned a multi-million dollar verdict against Merck and Company, the former maker of Vioxx.

Doctors told to check up on heart device patients

Wed, 14 May 2008 19:43:00 GMT

The Canadian Press - People with implanted heart devices need closer followup care, an international panel of heart specialists recommended Wednesday in the first guidelines for monitoring this rapidly growing group of patients.