Watching the World
A Dangerous Life-Style
The AHA (American Heart Association) has listed a number of factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease. There is also a list of risk factors that are more serious. Until recently, physical inactivity was listed among the less dangerous “contributing factors.” However, according to the University of California at Berkeley Wellness Letter, the AHA has “upgraded physical inactivity from its list of ‘contributing factors’ for cardiovascular disease to the stronger category of ‘risk factor.’” The Wellness Letter adds that this “places a sedentary life-style on par with high blood pressure, smoking, and high blood cholesterol.”
Dirty Hands
A recent study revealed that the majority of health-care workers in the United States neglect to wash their hands before examining their patients. Also, according to The Washington Post, “other studies have suggested that doctors do not change their gloves when they should.” This problem has undoubtedly contributed to the spread of disease. The Post reports that according to The New England Journal of Medicine, unwashed hands among doctors and nurses “may help explain why hospital patients develop infections that cost up to $10 billion a year to cure.”
Heart Disease Toll
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the biggest killers of mankind, causing about one quarter of all deaths worldwide. So states the 1991 World Health Statistics Annual, published in 1992 by WHO (World Health Organization). In developed nations, such as Australia, Canada, Japan, and the United States, CVD cause about half of all deaths, though the 1980’s saw a marked decrease. In developing nations, only 16 percent of all deaths are due to CVD. However, according to WHO, “there are signs of an emerging epidemic . . . CVD are on the rise across the width and breadth of the developing world.”
Leaks in the Mail
Laboratories the world over are using the postal systems to mail live microorganisms. There is growing concern over this practice because “potentially dangerous bacteria are regularly sent from one laboratory to another,” according to New Scientist magazine. Dutch researchers warn that damaged parcels could leak organisms into the environment. Recently, a group of scientists examined several parcels from laboratories in Australia, the Netherlands, Singapore, and the United States. They found that none of the packages conformed to the rules set out by the UN Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods. One Dutch laboratory, which receives a thousand samples yearly, has taken special precautions to prevent such accidents. Yet, it “still receives about five broken culture vials in the post each year,” says New Scientist.
Suicides in Argentina
Argentina has the highest suicide rate in the Americas. The newspaper La Nación notes that ‘according to official reports, close to 10 percent of all reported suicides in the country involve adolescents and young adults between the ages of 10 and 22, and most are males.’ The Ministry of Health says that every 30 hours one adolescent commits suicide in Argentina.
Poor Children in America
The United States, one of the richest countries in the world, is also home to some of the poorest children. According to The New York Times, a study conducted by the Children’s Defense Fund found that “the number of American children living in poverty grew by more than 1 million during the 1980’s, with rates rising in 33 states.” In 1989 over 25 percent of the children in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and West Virginia lived in families with incomes below the federal poverty line. The state of Mississippi had the highest rate, with 33.5 percent of all children living in poverty.