Public/Global Health

International scientists announced Wednesday that they will resume research on the deadly H5N1 bird flu after security fears prompted a yearlong moratorium.

Research will proceed in several countries but not in the United States, which is still weighing measures to ensure the virus is safely guarded.

The efforts halted in January 2012 after scientists at the University of Wisconsin and the Dutch Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, created strains of the virus that could, in theory, pass between humans. 

A bill from Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) would order more than 30 federal actions to encourage healthier living, from a penalty on certain tobacco manufacturers to targets for reducing sodium in U.S. foods.

Harkin, who leads the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, described the bill as a comprehensive step forward for preventive healthcare in the United States.

He vowed that his bill, introduced Tuesday for the sixth time, would reduce healthcare costs and spending in Medicare and Medicaid. 

The House on Tuesday approved legislation that reauthorizes several federal programs designed to counter the effects of biological, chemical and nuclear attacks against the United States.

Members passed the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act, H.R. 307, in a 395-29 vote.

The House meets at 10 a.m. for speeches, then at noon to debate and pass H.R. 307, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act.

The bill reauthorizes several government programs meant to prepare for bio-hazards. A similar bill easily passed the House last year, but the Senate never took it up.

Democratic lawmakers are pressing energy-drink manufacturers for data about their products as part of a wide federal safety probe.

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote to more than a dozen beverage companies Thursday asking for details on their drinks' ingredients, labels and marketing campaigns.

The letters follow similar messages from the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration to companies like Red Bull, Pepsi and Monster. 

Nearly all voters say it is important for the United States to remain involved in the World Health Organization (WHO), including providing the agency with funds, according to a new poll.

The Better World Campaign (BWC), which seeks to strengthen U.S. involvement in the United Nations, found that 61 percent of voters see the WHO favorably and 92 percent say the United States should continue contributing money to the agency.

The BWC touted its figures and argued U.S. funding for global health efforts should remain a priority as Washington enters a standoff over the debt ceiling and automatic budget cuts known as sequestration.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) waded into Hollywood news this week, telling viewers of the Golden Globe Awards to ignore actor Hugh Jackman when it comes to the flu vaccine.

Jackman, who picked up a Best Actor award in Sunday's ceremony, told the audience that he was just getting over a case of the flu. The illness has swept the United States in the last month.

"Sorry — I’m at the tail end of this flu, and I was kicking myself for not getting the flu shot, but it appears actually you don’t need one. I feel great!" Jackman said to laughs.  

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced four new studies Monday aimed at finding treatments for Alzheimer's disease, including one evaluating exercise as a way to stem cognitive decline.

The studies will be carried out by members of the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS), a research consortium established by NIH in 1991 to investigate Alzheimer's and develop treatments.

The research also meets goals outlined in the Obama administration's National Plan to Address Alzheimer's, announced in May 2012, which hopes to prevent and effectively treat the disease by 2025. 

Consuming fast food several times a week appeared to heighten children's' risk of developing asthma and eczema in a new international study.

Researchers at New Zealand's University of Auckland found a 39 percent increased chance of severe asthma in teenagers who ate three or more servings of fast food per week.

Younger children who ate a similar amount had a 27 percent increased risk of developing respiratory problems, according to the study, which was published Monday in British medical journal Thorax. 

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