UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News

Water scarcity of global concern

ST. PETER, Minn., Oct. 9 (UPI) -- A looming global water shortage means world leaders should act now to assure peace in water-poor regions, a climate change expert told a Minnesota audience.

"There is no more crucial issue to human society than the future of water on this planet," Nobel-Prize winner Rajendra Pachauri said, speaking in the U.S. state known as "The Land of 10,000 Lakes."

"Unless we act with a sense of urgency, there will certainly be conflict and a disruption of peace."

The world's water is like the world's wealth -- some countries have much more than others, Pachauri, a co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, Wednesday told a conference at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn.

Population increases and climate change mean as many as 1.2 billion people in Asia, 250 million Africans and 81 million Latin Americans will be exposed to increased water stress by 2020, said Pachauri, head of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"We need to look at what happens to the rest of the world with some degree of alarm; these influences have very dangerous implications for the rest of the world," he said.

Report: Diarrhea killing too many children

BALTIMORE, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Too few children worldwide are being treated with zinc supplements that could reduce deaths from diarrhea, medical researchers in Maryland said.

Low-cost diarrhea treatments such as zinc supplements and lower osmolarity oral rehydration salts could drastically reduce the number of deaths of among children, the World Health Organization said in 2004.

In the five intervening years, little progress has been made in implementing the life-saving techniques, researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said in a release Thursday.

"Of 68 priority countries, very few have zinc widely available and coverage within all countries is extremely limited," said Christa Fischer Walker, an scientist with the school's Department of International Health.

Many countries have changed diarrhea management policies to include low osmolarity and zinc, but there is a big gap between policy change and actual treatment, Walker said.

Diarrhea is a leading cause of death among children, accounting for 18 percent of childhood deaths worldwide, Walker said.

Chronic rhinosinusitis, depression linked

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers say depression may be common but under-reported in those with chronic rhinosinusitis -- long-term sinus and nasal inflammation.

Dr. Jamie R. Litvack, Dr. Timothy Smith, Jess Mace and Kenneth James of Oregon Health and Science University in Portland in Oregon recommend physicians who wish to optimize their patients' health, screen for both chronic rhinosinusitis and depression.

The researchers studied 73 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis -- long-term sinus and nasal inflammation. They found 9.6 percent reported histories of depression. However, when the patients were screened using an objective questionnaire, 20.5 percent scored in the range of a major depressive disorder.

The researchers also find patients with both depression and chronic rhinosinusitis scored significantly worse than the chronic rhinosinusitis patients without depression in most quality of life measures -- including bodily pain and physical and social functioning.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery Foundation in San Diego.

Vaccine reactions should be explored

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., Oct. 9 (UPI) -- People who experience an allergic reaction to a vaccine should investigate it further rather than avoid future immunizations, U.S. researchers said.

Of the 235 million doses of vaccines administered annually in the United States, only one dose per million causes a serious medical reaction and fatalities from those reactions are rare, researchers from the Illinois-based American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology said in a release Friday.

Skin reactions and fever are common after vaccinations and should not be used as a reason to avoid future vaccinations, said Dr. James Li, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

"I believe anyone with this concern should check with their doctor and consult with an allergist," Li said.

Reactions to vaccines most often are caused by vaccine components, such as egg protein or gelatin, rather than the immunizing agent itself, Li said.

Houston to test lightning detection system

HOUSTON, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Houston's steamy climate is perfect to test a lightning detection system that ultimately could save lives worldwide, a researcher says.

"Two things are required for lightning -- moisture and heat, and Houston certainly has plenty of both," said Richard Orville, a Texas A&M University atmospheric sciences professor who has studied lightning for more than 30 years.

Orville, through a $700,000 National Science Foundation grant, has developed a one-of-a-kind detection system to track where lightning occurs and where it is likely to occur again, the university said in a release Thursday.

The system's 12 sensors is designed to detect lightning within a 100-mile radius of Houston and give 5-20 minutes advance warning on where cloud-to-ground lightning may strike next, Orville said.

"Considering all of the golf courses, parks, stadiums, lakes and other outdoor sites where people tend to gather, it has the potential to save the lives of people who could be at risk," he said.