Salmonella Sickens People Across U.S.

UPDATE Friday 11/3/06:

Restaurant tomatoes have been identified as the culprit in the Salmonella outbreak that has sickened 183 people across 21 U.S. states and Canada, with 22 hospitalizations.

"We identified tomatoes eaten in restaurants as the cause of this outbreak," said Dr. Christopher Braden, the CDC's Chief of Outbreak Response and Surveillance.

"Now that we have a specific food commodity, FDA has initiated a trace-back," said Dr. David Acheson of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He continued by saying that the FDA would attempt to identify restaurants that had likely spread the disease, and identify who had supplied their tomatoes.

On a more comforting note, this particular outbreak of Salmonella seems to have come and gone. Dr. Braden concluded with this reassuring statement:

"The most recent onset of illness was Oct. 13. We've not received reports of illness with onset more recent than that, and for that reason we do believe that this outbreak is not ongoing at this time. It did occur in the past, and there is no further risk to the public."

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Tuesday 10/31/06:

172 people in 18 states have been sickened in a salmonella outbreak, resulting in 11 hospitalizations.

The outbreak is currently being investigated, and is likely tied to produce. Fresh lettuce and tomatoes have been identified as suspects, though nothing has been confirmed.

In New Hampshire, seven of eight people hospitalized had eaten fresh tomatoes. "That (tomatoes) is a suspect, but we can't say with any surety that that's the source," said Gregory Moore, spokesman for the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services.

The Salmonella bacterium that cause Salmonella food poisoning can be transmitted by any number of domestic animals, including chickens, cows, pigs, dogs and cats. Animals that carry the disease pass it in their feces, and any food can become contaminated if preparatory conditions or equipment are unsanitary.

Symptoms generally appear about one to two days after infection, and include fever (in 50% of patients), nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps and pain. The illness usually lasts about a week.

"We're very early in the investigation," said Dave Daigle, a spokesman for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No fatalities have been reported.

More information from the CDC on Salmonella is available here.

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The Road Most Travelled

This is my first post as the CEO of Healthline and the father of 9 week old twin boys (Grant & Cooper). It's been a tremendous ride so far.

As quick background, I am a serial entrepreneur and dad... this is my fourth early stage company, working as CEO for over 20 years and these are my third and fourth children (Taylor 20; Kelsey 17 led the way). It appears I can't seem to get enough of traveling down this very interesting, twisty road filled with inspiring views, potholes (i.e. diapers), and beautiful, fulfilling adventure.

I love the challenge and rewards of building businesses that effect millions of lives while raising cool little creatures that turn into amazing people. There are so many similarities in the commitment and skills required to do these important jobs well. I am very lucky to have both an incredible, passionate wife, Katherine, to help guide these to boys through life and a tremendously talented, hard-working team at Healthline to build a great company that is focused on helping people lead healthier lives.

We now have over four million people a month coming to our site, healthline.com, and will soon be powering the health search and navigation on dozens of high profile sites (portals, publishers, health plans, etc.) bringing high quality, contextually relevant health information to over 20 million people a month by the end of 2007. We are targeting to become the largest, most trusted provider of health information in the world. Its a worthy mission that gets us all out of bed every morning with a spring in our step and a smile on our face.

I will be posting from time to time to weigh in on what we are doing at Healthline and offer insights on the adventure of raising twin boys...somehow I think lack of sleep should be the least of my concerns.Thanks for coming along on the ride...

Best health,
West Shell III
Chairman & CEO

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Shingles Vaccine Recommended to All Over 60

The U.S. Center for Disease Control has recommended that everyone over 60 be vaccinated against shingles.

The sweeping nature of this recommendation is due to widespread exposure to the chicken pox virus, which causes shingles. Said Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt Medical School in Nashville, TN:

"If we look at everyone who's over age 60, for all intents and purposes, 100 percent -- even if you don't remember having had it -- literally everyone age 60 and over has been exposed in their past lives to the chickenpox virus".

Shingles, also known as herpes zoster, causes skin eruptions in girdle-like pattern that roughly follows a major nerve pathway, often on the trunk of the body, although it can also spread to the face and even the eyes, causing blindness. The initial redness and irritation often develops into blisters that are so painful as to be debilitating. "It can cause months and sometimes years of pain," said Dr. Robert Schwartz, professor and chairman of family medicine and community health at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

The vaccine, Zostavax, was approved by the FDA in May 2006. Since the CDC has issued this recommendation, federal health officials will be in a position to influence whether or not it will be covered by insurance companies.

"The vaccine is a major public health advance" for the 60-plus age group, said Schaffner. "If you reach age 85," he says, "almost half of people will have experienced shingles at some point in their lives. It's really quite extraordinary. There are 1 million cases of shingles that occur in the U.S. each year."

"Generally, anyone 60 and over should be vaccinated, even if they've had shingles in the past," said Curtis Allen, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control.

More information about the vaccine from the CDC is available here.

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Obesity Twice as Costly as Medicare

A study found that obesity cost Australians $21 billion in 2005, going to direct spending, disability, and premature death - an amount double the national expenditure on Medicare.

The study found the "burden of disease" to cause the heaviest losses - $17.2 billion - including loss of well-being and premature death.

Of the $3.77 billion in direct costs for health treatments and lost productivity, a full 37% was borne by the Australian government, with 29% falling on the obese individuals, and 16.4% on family and friends.

Links between obesity disorders such as diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease are well documented. And recently, a study at the Toulouse University Hospital suggested that obesity can cause brain cell damage and lower performance on cognitive tests. The lead researcher, Dr. Maxime Court explained that intelligence loss due to obesity could be cuased by fat cells secreting hormones that can damage nerve cells, calling it the "Homer Simpson effect."

With all these health risks, huge costs to government, individuals and families, and an ever-increasing number of people becoming overweight and obese, the question of how to manage this forthcoming crisis remains.

To which I'd counter with another question - how about good old-fashioned diet and exercise?

Guidelines for good nutrition and improving your diet are easy to find. And you don't have to be a gym member to stay fit. According to a recent study in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, people who cycle or walk on community trails are more than twice as likely to get the recommended amount of daily exercise.

Even non-trail users seem to be appreciative of trails and parks - with 44 percent supportive of building more trails, and 36 percent willing to pay more taxes to finance them.

Given that these trails seem to enjoy public support and are easy to build within communities, they "could potentially be a cost-effective public health initiative," said John Librett, a health scientist from the University of Utah.

Noted the executive director of Diabetes Austrialia, Brian Conway:

"The burden is falling on … the whole of society, so it truly behooves the individual and the family to work at how they can improve their eating and exercise."

I couldn't agree more.

Australian Senator Guy Barnett framed the issue in starker terms,

"[Obesity] is increasing at significant levels. If nothing is done we will face a health crisis like we've never seen before."

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Trans Fat Ban in NYC?

I can't imagine anyone finding fault with a city for passing legislation that bans something with a proven track record of harming public health - like lead in paint, or exposure to asbestos.

New York City is considering a similar move to protect public health - by prohibiting restaurants' use of trans fat.

There are two proposals currently being considered. The first mandates a 6 month phase-out of trans fat use by all restaurants. The second requires those restaurants that already make calorie content available to do so very visibly on menus and menu boards, rather than inconspicuous places like brochures or tray liners.

Trans fat is getting all this attention because it elevates risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). It does so by "rais[ing] the bad blood cholesterol (LDL) while lowering the good cholesterol (HDL)," according to Marion Nestle, the author of What to Eat and a professor in the nutrition department at New York University.

Walter Willet, the Chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health has even stronger words:

"If New Yorkers replace all sources of artificial trans fat, by even the most conservative estimates, at least 500 deaths from heart disease would be prevented each year in New York City - more than the number of people killed annually in motor vehicle crashes. Based on long-term studies, the number of preventable deaths may be many times higher. Trans fat from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is a toxic substance that does not belong in food."

In considering this legislation, NYC joins a growing list of countries and cities moving against the use of trans fat, including Canada and Denmark. In the US, the city of Tiburon, California used a grassroots approach to get the city's 18 restaurants to agree to cook without trans fat in early 2005. Chicago has also proposed a ban, but would limit it to companies with annual revenues of $20 million or more.

Some large companies are being more proactive. Wendy's announced in August that it had switched to cooking oil that contains no trans fat, while Frito-Lay has removed trans fat from Cheetos and Doritos.

At the federal level, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began requiring disclosure of trans fat content on food labels in January 2006. Walter Willet was not impressed:

"Artificial trans fats are very toxic, and they almost surely causes tens of thousands of premature deaths each year," he said. "The federal government should have done this long ago."

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