Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.health From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: health Thu, Aug 13 1992 Date: Thu, 13 Aug 92 05:17:49 EDT Message-ID: 08-13 0000 DECISIONLINE: Health USA TODAY Update Aug. 13, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network TARGETED TESTING COULD SPOT HIV: Hospitals could find two-thirds of the previously undetected HIV infections in their patients by testing just a handful nationwide, a study suggests. The proposed test group: People 15 to 54 who check into hospitals that see at least one AIDS case in every 1,000 patients. (For more, see special HIV package below.) DRUG FOR HEPATITIS A PROMISING: A new vaccine for hepatitis A may soon hit the market. A study in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine shows the vaccine was so successful that trials were stopped early and it was made available to those receiving placebos. About 31,000 cases of hepatitis A were reported in 1990. Merck Research Laboratories will apply for Food and Drug Administration approval for this year. FDA HOLDS FOOD LABEL HEARING: The Food and Drug Administration will hold a public hearing Monday in Bethesda, Md., on alternative food label formats. The hearing will be held at the Jack Masur Auditorium, Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health. FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler, M.D., is scheduled to attend. ABC SPOTLIGHTS MYSTERY DISEASE: A number of U.S. soldiers have returned from the Gulf war with headaches, skin rashes and sore joints. Friday on ABC's "20:20," correspondent Lynn Sherr checks in with victims of the mystery disease, who claim the U.S. military knows what's wrong with them. Sherr says the military hopes her report will prompt response from other soldiers "to help fill in the blanks." HEALTH BILL STUCK IN HOUSE: A bill aimed at holding down health spending and providing coverage for the uninsured is stuck in the House, despite approval of the Ways and Means health subcommittee, reports Medicine and Health. The bill would hold the annual health spending increase to the growth in gross domestic product and use the savings to cover 20 million uninsured women and children. BILL FALLS SHORT OF VOTES: Disagreements between Democrats who favor a single-payer health system and those who support a market-oriented approach have slowed the progress of a 1992 health reform bill spearheaded by Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., says Medicine and Health. Facing Democratic squabbling and Republican opposition, the bill has fallen short of votes. THE LOWDOWN ON WORKAHOLICS: Workaholics could be setting themselves up for headaches, chronic fatigue and failed relationships. Workaholics tend to be extremely competitive, often anxious and don't even relax on the weekend or on vacation, experts say. They are so driven they can't sit still, says Barbara Killinger, author of a new book, "Workaholics: The Respectable Addicts" (Fireside Books, $11). TIPS FOR LOW-FAT COOKING: The Mayo Clinic health letter gives the following tips for healthy, low-fat cooking: Invest in nonstick cookware or use vegetable cooking sprays to eliminate added fat; saute vegetables such as onions, mushrooms or celery in a small amount of wine, broth, water, or soy sauce to avoid using oils; and cut the amount of meat used in casseroles and stews by one-third. `HOME' DISCUSSES CHILD SAFETY: Parents with small kids might want to watch ABC's "Home" show Thursday. It focuses on creating a safe environment for children at home and in the community. U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello will co-host the show airing at 11 a.m. ET:PT. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON HIV: MANY WALKING AROUND INFECTED: An AIDS strategy, which would rely on hospitals routinely offering tests, could in one year alert up to 110,000 people to their infection with the AIDS virus, researchers say. Based on tests at 20 hospitals, researchers estimate 225,000 infected people check into U.S. hospitals each year; of those, 163,000 are not seeking treatment for HIV and may not know they're infected. STRATEGY CALLED `EFFICIENT': Dr. Robert Janssen and colleagues tried to figure out how to find most of these people without testing everyone - an expensive, inefficient proposition. They found that patients 15 to 54 at hospitals with the highest AIDS rates account for two-thirds of infections. Targeted, voluntary testing could help more infected people receive vital early treatment, experts say. CERTAIN RULES WOULD BE FOLLOWED: Dr. Thomas Quinn of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says testing must not be "a requirement for admission or for invasive procedures." Health workers should use routine precautions, not patient testing, to protect themselves from HIV, he says. Only those actually admitted to hospitals would be found through the testing scheme. (End of package.) Health Editor: Michele Coleman. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM