Email this page  Print this page  del.icio.us  digg

Health Briefs

Health shorts from around the state

HISPANICS LAG IN MEETING HEALTH GOALS
U.S. Hispanics lag behind Whites in meeting key health goals established by a large, national public health initiative, according to results from a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although they were less likely to binge drink or smoke more than Whites, overall, Hispanics were less likely to participate in moderate physical activity, to have received a pneumonia vaccination or to have health-care coverage and a specific source of ongoing care. In addition, Hispanics were more likely to be obese than White counterparts.

For the study, scientists analyzed responses from 235,784 participants of various ethnic groups, including 18,929 Hispanics, on six leading health indicators established by Healthy People 2010, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services initiative. The elimination of health disparities between ethnic groups is one of the major goals of the initiative.

U of A GETS VALLEY FEVER RESEARCH HELP
The BIO5 Institute at the University of Arizona announced that a promising treatment for valley fever received Orphan Drug Status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The 1983 Orphan Drug Act allows the federal government to assist in the development of treatments for rare diseases, which according to the FDA are those that affect fewer than 200,000 people a year.

Preclinical data from experimental studies in mice show that the valley fever fungus was eradicated with the drug nikkomycin z.

"This offers hope that nikkomycin z might be curative in people," says Dr. John Galgiani, director of the UA Valley Fever Center for Excellence and a professor in the UA College of Medicine.

More than four million people in the United States live in areas where the valley fever fungus is prevalent in soils. Though rare in the rest of the country, 80 percent of these people live in the Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas and other communities in southern Arizona. It is estimated that about one-third of Phoenix residents have had valley fever at some point in their lives.

Valley fever infections are more likely to occur during particular seasons. In Arizona, the highest prevalence of infections occurs June through July, and from October through November.

For information, visit www.vfce.arizona.edu.

JAFRA LAUNCHES SPANISH SITE
Jafra Cosmetics International, a multilevel marketing and direct-selling company in the skin care and beauty industry, recently launched Jafra Hispanic USA online, en Espanol (www.jafra.com), specifically designed for the Spanish-speaking community who prefer information in their native language.

According to Melba Rios, Jafra vice president of commercial business, nearly half of U.S. Hispanic Internet users either prefers to speak Spanish only or a mix of Spanish and English. The new site is designed to appeal to the 65 percent of Hispanic women who have used the Internet to obtain information about school, jobs
and other key information.

BANNER SEEKS BILINGUAL VOLUNTEEERS
Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center is looking for bilingual volunteer greeters to assist patients and walk-ins at its central Phoenix location, 1111 E. McDowell Road. Almost 50 percent of the hospital’s patients and visitors speak only Spanish. For information, call (602) 239-4380.

Send your Healthy Living briefs to Latino Perspectives Magazine, 3877 N. 7th St. Ste. 200, Phoenix, Arizona 85014 or by e-mail: news@latinoperspectivesmagazine.com.