China police break up fake Tamiflu ring/Bird flu found in Maryland, US/Aussie 13 yr olds having breast implants?

September 4, 2006

China police break up fake Tamiflu ring

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425826/823716

Aug 30, 2006

Police in China's commercial hub of Shanghai have broken up a ring that was selling a fake version of Tamiflu - considered a key medical defence against bird flu in humans, an official state newspaper said on Wednesday.

The group made more than 1.6 million yuan ($NZ311,000) selling the drugs online and via other channels in China and in southeast Asia, the China Daily said.

Police arrested 13 people and seized 400 kilograms of the fake drugs and 46 tonnes of raw materials, it said.

"The ingredients of the pill were not released because of fears it would be copied, but it is said to be extremely volatile as the method of production can easily cause explosions," the report said.

Tamiflu is made by Roche Holding AG, but Shanghai Pharmaceutical (Group), parent of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd, has been licensed to make the drug in China.

China has reported 14 human deaths from the H5N1 form of bird flu since 2003, out of 21 total confirmed cases. Dozens of poultry outbreaks have been reported.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu can strike domestic and wild birds and infect humans who have close contact with them.

Some scientists fear that the strain could mutate and cause a pandemic in which millions of people could die.

Bird flu found in Maryland

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425826/825164

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Sep 2, 2006

US agriculture officials said on Friday that tests found the H5N1 avian influenza virus in mallard ducks in Maryland but it appeared to be a low-pathogenic strain that posed no risk to humans.

The virus was found in fecal samples from Queen Anne's County in Maryland, on the US central Atlantic coast.

"Testing has ruled out the possibility of this being the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that has spread through birds in Asia, Europe and Africa," said the Agriculture Department in a statement. "Test results thus far indicate this is low pathogenic avian influenza, which poses no risk to human health."

Low-risk H5N1 found in US ducks

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425826/825452

Sep 3, 2006

Mallard ducks in Pennsylvania have tested positive for a low-pathogenic strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus, the US Agriculture and Interior departments said on Saturday, adding to cases detected recently in Maryland and Michigan.

A strain of the H5N1 avian influenza virus was found in wild ducks sampled August 28 in Crawford County in northwestern Pennsylvania.

"Testing has ruled out the possibility of this being the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that has spread through birds in Asia, Europe and Africa," USDA and Interior said in a statement. "Test results thus far indicate this is low pathogenic avian influenza, which poses no risk to human health."

The government said it was conducting additional tests to determine, in part, if the ducks had H5N1 or two separate strains with one virus contributing H5 and the other N1. A second round of tests could take five to 10 more days to confirm whether it was the low-pathogenic H5N1 bird flu.

The virus also has been found during the last month in Michigan and on Friday in Maryland. The Maryland mallards did not appear sick so the samples, collected on August 2 as part of a research project, were not given high priority when sent to USDA labs for testing.

The US departments of Agriculture and Interior are working with states to collect between 75,000 and 100,000 wild bird samples in addition to more than 50,000 environmental tests throughout the United States.

A low-pathogenic strain, which produces less disease and mortality in birds than does a high-pathogenic version, poses no threat to humans. It is common for mild and low pathogenic strains of bird flu to appear in the United States and other countries.

The latest H5N1 bird flu strain in Asia, Europe and Africa is known to have killed at least 141 people and forced hundreds of millions of birds to be destroyed.

http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/425824/822470

New guidelines for cosmetic industry

Aug 28, 2006

There may be new guidelines for cosmetic surgery in New Zealand within the next six months.

The medical profession is looking at the issue across the Tasman where there are concerns that girls as young as 13 are lining up for breast implants and tummy tucks.

In Australia, the number of teenagers having cosmetic surgery has doubled over the last decade and politicians say it is a disturbing trend that needs to stop.

New South Wales premier Morris Iemma wants parental consent and counselling.

"My first choice is for the plastic surgeons associations, for the surgeons themselves, through a code of practice to institute these safeguards but certainly one of the options we'll examine is regulation," he says.

It is an issue experts in New Zealand want to resolve but they say government regulation could mean that some genuine patients miss out.

"I don't think you can lay down rules for this sort of thing. You have to rely on the good judgement of the surgeon," says New Zealand Medical Council Professor John Campbell.

New standards are likely in the next six months and will ensure only qualified surgeons do breast implants. But the standards will not necessarily address surgeons' ethics.

"If it was a particularly immature 16-year-old with some growing still to do I don't think many surgeons would take the money and perform the surgery. Most of them would be ethical enough to say nope," says Tristan de Chalain of the NZ Foundation for Cosmetic Plastic Surgery.

It costs up to $15,000 to have breast implants and Aussie teens are being tempted with long-term credit and mother-daughter package deals.That is not the way Kiwi surgeons want the business developing here.