Page 6
Æl!':j3ort lattò (Obstruer
August II, 2010
MATTERS
Tainted Pet Food Blamed: Dealing with
For source of
salmonella
outbreak in kids
F ido’s food m ay be m aking kids
sick, a governm ent report w arns,
detailing the first know n salm o­
nella outbreak in hum ans, m ostly
young children, linked to pet food.
The outbreak sickened 79 people
in 21 m ostly eastern states, b e­
tw een 2006 and 2008. A lm ost half
o f the victim s w ere children aged 2
and younger.
D ry pet foods are an under-rec­
ognized source o f salm onella in ­
fections in hum ans, and it’s likely
o th er illnesses since then w ere un­
know ingly caused by tainted pet
food, said C asey Barton B ehravesh,
the re p o rt's lead au th o r and a re­
searcher at the federal C enters for
D isease C ontrol and Prevention.
At least six unrelated pet food
recalls have been issued this year
by m anufacturers because o f p o s­
sib le sa lm o n e lla c o n ta m in a tio n ,
Food and D rug A dm inistration data
show . FD A spokesm an Ira A llen
said there have been no reported
salm onella illnesses linked to pet
food since the 2006-08 outbreak.
A report about the outbreak was
published online M onday by the
m edical jo u rn al Pediatrics.
There have been no know n cases
o f hum an salm onella linked with
wet pet food.
The outbreak w as blam ed on
salm onella bacteria found in sev­
eral brands o f dry dog and cat food
produced at a M ars Petcare US
plant in Everson, Pa., including
Pedigree and Special Kitty.
W hile young children were most
often affected, th e re ’s no evidence
that they got sick by eating pet
food, B ehravesh said. T hey p ro b ­
ably becam e infected by touching
affected anim als or dirty pet food
d ish e s, and th en p u ttin g th e ir
hands in their m ouths, she said. •
Sym ptom s included bloody d i­
arrhea and fever. At least 11 people
w ere hospitalized; none died.
Report: Poor Still Smoking
A new report show s few er people
are sm oking in O regon except for
people with low incom es, w hose
rate has not changed.
T he state D epartm ent o f H um an
Services report show s the sm oking
rate in O regon has dropped sig n ifi­
cantly since the state b e­
gan its T obacco Preven­
tion and E ducation Pro­
gram in 1996.
B ut the re p o rt say s
sm oking am ong low er-in­
com e people “has stub-
4
b o r n ly r e m a in e d at
around 35 percent.”
O verall, the sm oking
rate declined from 24 per­
cent o f O reg o n ian s in
1996to 17 percent smoked
in 2007.
Public Service Message by the Portland Observer
A Monthly Childbirth Preparation Workshop
H eld at: IC TC - every third Saturday
A ugust 21 st, S eptem ber 18th, 2010
O ctober 16th, N ovem ber 20th, D ecem ber 18th
2823 N. R osa Parks Way
Portland, OR 97217
503-460-9324
Time: 1 0 :0 0 A M -2 :0 0 P M
Mental Illness
Course helps
families cope
A free, 12-w eek course for people
w hose adult fam ily m em bers live
w ith m ental illness is sponsored by
the M ultnom ah C hapter o f the N a­
tional A lliance on M ental Illness.
E vening classes start Sept. 9 at
L egacy Em anuel H ospital; Satur­
day m orning classes begin Sept. 11
at P ro v id en ce P o rtlan d M edical
C enter. C lasses are offered at other
locations in the m etro area.
The course, described as “ life­
ch an g in g ” by form er participants,
is designed for parents, spouses,
children, siblings and friends o f
p e rso n s
w ith
m e n ta l
illness. T he nationally recognized
curriculum is taught by specially
trained volunteers w hose ow n fam ­
ily m em bers live with mental illness.
Classes m eet for two and a half hours
each w eek for 12 w eeks.
C lasses c o v er the biology o f
brain disorders; dealing w ith crisis
and relapse; diagnostic criteria for
the m ajor m ental illnesses; m edica­
tions and how they w ork; co-occur-
ring m ental illness and addiction
d is o r d e r s ;
p r o b le m
solving; em pathy w ith those w ho
are ill; and com m unication and co p ­
ing skills for fam ily m em bers.
“T h is c la ss h elp s fa m ilie s to
see that m en tal illn e ss is a d is o r­
d e r o f the b ra in , ju s t as a sth m a
a n d d ia b e te s a re d is o r d e r s o f
o th e r o rg a n s o f th e body. It h e lp s
fa m ilie s to sep a ra te th e ir lo v ed
o n e fro m the illn e ss that a ffe c ts
th e ir lo v e d o n e s ,” said M a rg a re t
B ray d en , e x e c u tiv e d ire c to r o f
th e P o rtla n d c h ap te r.
R egistration is required. To reg ­
ister, call 503-203-3326.
Obesity a Risk to Unborn
(A P) — W om en w ho gain too
m uch w eight during pregnancy have
big babies, putting their children at
risk o f becom ing heavy later on, a
new study says.
A m erican researchers follow ed
all births in M ichigan and N ew Je r­
sey betw een 1989 and 2003. T hey
then focused on w om en w ho had
m ore than one child, to exclude the
possibility that w om en w ho w ere
genetically predisposed to be obese
w ere sim ply passing those genes
onto their babies.
A m ong the m ore than 513,000
w om en and their 1.1 m illion infants
studied, scientists found that w om en
w ho gained m ore than 53 pounds
during their pregnancy m ade b a ­
bies w ho w ere about .3 pounds
h e av ie r at birth than infants o f
w om en w ho gained only 22 pounds.
The study w as published in the
m edical journal Lancet and was paid
fo rb y the U .S. N ational In stitu teso f
Health.
Information Learned:
H ealth W atch
Hour 1
In tro d u ctio n
H ealthy Pregnancy
M aternity W ater W orkout — H elping new m om s regain m uscle tone,
strength, and flexibility, all in the support and freedom o f the w ater.
Call 503-256-4000 for m ore inform ation.
H our 2
N utrition
Prenatal M ovem ent
S en ior A erob ics — A low -im pact w orkout geared specifically tow ard
seniors. Call 503-449-0783 for current schedule.
H our 3
Signs o f Labor
L abor M anagem ent
Pain Relief
Delivery
H our 4
B reastfeeding
P ostpartum
N ew born C are
C losing
If y o u ’re able to, please bring tw o pillow s and y o u r support person.
Light refreshm ents are served
A LL ARE W ELCOM E
R egistration is required
For m ore inform ation call 503-460-9324
O steoporosis Screenin g — An ultrasound bone density screening
w ith personalized education; fee $30. T o schedule an appointm ent, call
503-261-6611.
*
M ind B ody H ealth C lass — Learn and practice techniques to help you
im prove your m ood, health and w ellbeing, including effective w ays to
m anage difficult em otions and chronic»stress or illness. R egistration is
$70 for K aiser Perm anente m em bers and $95 for nonm em bers. Call 503-
286-6816.
Red C ross C ertification — The O regon Trail C h ap ter R ed C ross now
offers credits to helps professionals m aintain licensing or certification.
For a cum ulative list, visit p d x in fo .n et.
Free B ody B asics — This physician recom m ended class is appropriate
for all ages and health conditions. Plan to attend this one-session
class and learn the sim ple guidelines fo r safe exercises, including
stretching. C all 503-256-4000 to register.