DHEC Warns State Fair Visitors About New Swine Flu

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina health officials are warning visitors to the upcoming state fair to be vigilant about a new strain of swine flu.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control said Tuesday it is working with Clemson University to prevent the spread of the new flu strain known as H3N2v.

Interim State Epidemiologist Linda Bell says the virus circulates in pigs and has infected people in several states but not South Carolina. It can be directly transmitted between people and swine, but officials say people cannot get sick by eating properly handled and prepared pork products.

Heart Attack Survivors Should Be Wary Of Some Painkillers Say Researchers

Heart attack survivors should be wary about taking a common group of painkillers known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), say Danish researchers reporting in the journal Circulation this week, because the drugs could increase longer term risk of a second heart attack, or even death.

NSAIDs include over the counter painkillers such as ibuprofen and naproxen, and prescription medication like celecoxib (Celebrex) which is used to treat arthritis, pain, menstrual cramps, and colonic polyps.

Netanyahu: Without ultimatum, U.S. has no ‘moral right’ to stop Israel from attacking Iran

POOL/REUTERS - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint news conference with his Bulgarian counterpart Boiko Borisov in Jerusalem Sept. 11, 2012. Netanyahu ramped up threats to attack Iran, saying if world powers refused to set a red line for Tehran's nuclear programme, they could not demand that Israel hold its fire.

JERUSALEM — Signaling a deepening dispute with Washington over issuing ultimatums for Iran’s nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that those who won’t make such demands on Tehran “don’t have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.”

In a blistering response to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s statement that the United States is “not setting deadlines” for Iran and that negotiations coupled with sanctions are the best approach, Netanyahu said that if no “red line” is established for Iran, it will continue pursuing an atomic bomb.

Popular Antibiotics May Carry Serious Side Effects

 
Yvetta Fedorova

Antibiotics are important drugs, often restoring health and even saving lives. But like all drugs, they can have unwanted and serious side effects, some of which may not become apparent until many thousands of patients have been treated.

Such is the case with an important class of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones. The best known are Cipro (ciprofloxacin), Levaquin (levofloxacin) and Avelox (moxifloxacin). In 2010, Levaquin was the best-selling antibiotic in the United States.

But by last year it was also the subject of more than 2,000 lawsuits from patients who had suffered severe reactions after taking it.

UPDATE 1-Patience tested on second day of Chicago teachers strike

* Teachers oppose evaluations tied to student performance
* Chicago's Democratic mayor has championed education reform
* Obama needs union support to win key swing states

CHICAGO, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Parents and thousands of Chicago children faced a second day of closed public schools on Tuesday as striking teachers and the nation's third-largest school district argued over education reforms sought by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

"It's hard work," David Vitale, president of the Chicago Board of Education and lead negotiator for the city said of talks with the teachers union. "It's taking them ... more time than we think it should."