Major Polio Epidemic in Yemen, 22 infected : WHO

Twenty-two cases of Polio have been reported in Yemen, which had been polio-free for almost a decade. To control the outbreak, experts are planning a nationwide immunization campaign using a recently-developed vaccine which will specifically target this type of poliovirus.

Eighteen new cases of Polio have today been announced in Yemen, bringing the reported total number associated with an outbreak in the country to 22. Yemen had been polio-free since disease surveillance began in 1996.

A genetic investigation is ongoing to determine the precise origin of the outbreak. Experts fear that the number of cases will rise in the immediate future.

Teams of WHO and Ministry of Health epidemiologists and paediatricians remain on the ground, to investigate and control the outbreak and to intensify the planning for appropriate supplementary immunization activities.

“What we are facing now is a major epidemic of polio in Yemen,” said David Heymann, head of the WHO’s polio eradication program.

The WHO was awaiting genetic analysis of the virus to determine whether it had come from neighboring Saudi Arabia or Sudan, which have both registered cases in the past year.
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An enzyme responsible in increasing heart attack : New Study

North Carolina scientists identified a key enzyme in turning cholesterol into artery-clogging plaque, a finding integral to preventing atherosclerosis. New research suggests an enzyme called ACAT2 may be to blame for the build-up which is responsible for helping cholesterol leave the liver, where it is made, and travel to other parts of the body.

Many people think of cholesterol as a bad thing, but scientists are quick to point out the much maligned substance is actually needed to help insulate the nerves and keep cells healthy. Cholesterol is necessary for insulating nerves, making cell membranes and producing certain hormones. The body makes enough cholesterol on its own, however, so too much dietary cholesterol is a health risk, clogging the arteries increasing the possibility of a heart attack.

The problem is, too much of it ends up being warehoused inside the arteries, where it builds up as plaque and can cause heart attacks and strokes. It has not been clear, however, how cholesterol from food is transformed into the plague that clings to artery walls, causing atherosclerosis.

Lawrence Rudel, Ph.D., from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, presented new results from his research on ACAT2, a cholesterol transforming enzyme, today at the American Heart Association’s Sixth Annual Conference on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology in Washington, D.C.
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New Social Security Plan Doesn’t Change Dynamics

Mr. Bush has lost much of the political muscle he boasted about after winning re-election. Gas prices are rising, his approval ratings are sagging and Americans are unhappy with his handling of the economy and Iraq. Now he’s trying to sell a Social Security plan that would cut future benefits for all but low-income retirees giving opponents fresh ammunition. Even before Bush unveiled his new proposal and despite a 60-day sales campaign a majority of Americans thought he had mishandled Social Security, too.

Along with his other troubles, Bush has had to prop up two endangered Republicans: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, accused of ethical lapses, and John Bolton, the president’s choice for U.N. ambassador, criticized for his judgment and treatment of subordinates. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard. Not for a re-elected Republican president with a GOP-ruled House and Senate.

“He’s in far weaker shape than most people expected he would be in the aftermath of the election,” said Margaret Thompson, a professor of history and political science at Syracuse University. “I think he became overconfident about what he could accomplish.” George W. Bush lost the 2000 presidential election by half a million votes and saw the result as a mandate to rewrite the tax code and redraw the map of the world. So when he won the 2004 election by 3 million votes, liberals could have been excused for wondering what the weather would be like in Vancouver for the next four years. (more…)

Bride Found Alive in New Mexico

32-year-old woman who vanished just days before her wedding was found alive early on Saturday in New Mexico, police said. Her family said she had been kidnapped. Jennifer Wilbanks was in police custody in New Mexico, a dispatcher at the Albuquerque Police Communications Dispatch Center told NBC News. “We have (her) in custody,” the dispatcher, who would not provide her name, told NBC. “All of her friends and family said this is totally uncharacteristic of her,” police Maj. Don Woodruff said on Thursday after it was announced that police were treating her disappearance as a criminal investigation. “We don’t believe it was a case of premarital jitters. She did not get cold feet.”

But under questioning from reporters, Duluth Police Chief Randy Belcher later acknowledged: “It’s a very real possibility she did get cold feet. I mean, how many husbands have gone out for a pack of cigarettes and not come back?” Saturday’s wedding was expected to be a big bash, with 600 invitations sent out. The groom’s father, Claude Mason, a former Duluth mayor and municipal judge, was to be the best man. John Mason says he volunteered to take the lie-detector test last Wednesday. Duluth Police Chief Randall Belcher announced during a news conference Thursday evening that Mason could be going through with it at a time to be determined on Friday.

“I don’t know that he’s made the decision, he’s going to announce that, but John has nothing to hide,�? said Rev. Alan Jones, the couple’s pastor and the associate pastor of Peachtree Corners Baptist Church. Like Jennifer Corbin, Jennifer Wilbanks was with a man some seem to think would be above reproach - Bart Corbin a successful dentist, Wilbanks’ fiancé John Mason is the son of Claude Mason, a former Duluth Mayor and Municipal Judge. (more…)