Too many disorders and diseases are directly connected to toxin exposure or defective drugs. Americas Watchdog is keeping a doggy eye on the situation. We’ll bark every time we discover a link.

To date, three hundred and twenty-four BP oil spill exposure-related cases have been reported to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH), according to its eighth surveillance report released today. It was 290 last week. Two hundred and forty-one of those cases involved workers on oil rigs or workers doing oil spill clean-up, while 83 were reported by the general public.

The Department is gathering data through its surveillance network of doctors, clinics, emergency care locations and medical facilities, which are reporting illnesses and injuries associated with the oil spill for the ongoing database. Each exposure-related complaint is followed up by DHH Office of Public Health staff.

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Apparently, tainted soil is not the culprit in the Acreage childhood cancer cluster. This was divulged after more than a year of government probing in this semi-rural Florida community at a cost of about a quarter-million dollars, wrote the Palm Beach Post.

On Wednesday, state officials said that results from the last in a series of state-run environmental soil tests indicated no critical pollution and no contaminants known to be associated with brain cancer.

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Grand Rapids, Michigan’s Millennium Park closed early for cleaning Wednesday evening after an outbreak of Norovirus sickened about 100 people last weekend.

The Kent County Health Department says test results received Wednesday confirmed that some of the park visitors suffered from Norovirus after visiting the park on Friday or Saturday. But tests indicated the park’s water bacteria level measured safe. Health workers are still trying to ascertain the virus source. According to a department statement:

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Two hundred and ninety BP oil spill exposure-related cases have been reported to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) to date, according to its seventh surveillance report released today. Last week, it was 227. Two hundred and sixteen of those incidents involved workers on oil rigs or workers doing oil spill clean-up, while 74 were reported by the general public (33 last week).

The Department is gathering data through its surveillance network of doctors, clinics, emergency care locations and medical facilities, which are reporting illnesses and injuries associated with the oil spill for the ongoing database. Each exposure-related complaint is followed up by DHH Office of Public Health staff.

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If you need an excuse not to keep a spotless home, here it is. A new study indicates general use of household cleaners doubled the risk of breast cancer in women who used them frequently.

Scientists found decisive links between the cancer and women’s use of cleaning products, mold removers and air fresheners. The latter and mold and mildew removers provided the strongest association, wrote The Sydney Morning Herald. Surprisingly, mothballs, pesticides and insect repellents had little association with breast disease risk.

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Health officials who have been monitoring Key West, Fla., residents for dengue virus were alarmed to discover that about 1,000 people were exposed to the pathogen in 2009, wrote USA Today.

“We’re concerned that if dengue gains a foothold in Key West, it will travel to other southern cities where the mosquito that transmits dengue is present, like Miami,” Harold Margolis, chief of the dengue branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in a news release. There hasn’t been an outbreak in Florida since 1934, according to the agency.

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Two hundred and twenty-seven BP oil spill exposure-related cases have been reported to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) so far, according to its sixth surveillance disclosure released yesterday. One hundred and ninety-three of those cases included workers on oil rigs or those involved in the oil spill clean-up efforts, while 34 related to the general public.

The Department is gathering data through its surveillance network of doctors, clinics, emergency care locations and medical facilities, which are noting oil spill illnesses and injuries for the ongoing database. Each exposure-related complaint is followed up by DHH Office of Public Health staff.

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Iowa state health officials are warning residents about touching reptiles after two Eastern Iowans contracted Salmonella.

According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, the two illnesses could be part of a national outbreak associated with exposure to snakes, turtles, lizards or other reptiles.

Department spokeswoman Polly Carver-Kimm said the two patients contracted Salmonella Typhimurium between May 22 and June 13. Symptoms included diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills and stomach cramps. Fortunately, both patients made a full recovery. The agency does not disclose patient names or addresses.

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To date, one hundred and ninety-nine cases of BP oil spill exposure-related cases have been reported to the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH), according to its fifth surveillance report released today. One hundred and sixty-six of those cases involved workers on oil rigs or workers doing oil spill clean-up, while 33 were reported by the general public.

The Department is gathering data through its surveillance network of doctors, clinics, emergency care locations and medical facilities, which are reporting illnesses and injuries associated with the oil spill for the ongoing database. Each exposure-related complaint is followed up by DHH Office of Public Health staff.

Continue Reading »