Health | WPN World People News

Officials in northwest Pakistan say an explosion near a polio vaccination team has killed two people and wounded 13 others.

Children with infantile Batten disease have a genetic deficiency of an enzyme, PPT1 (palmitoyl-protein thioesterase-1). The deficiency of PPT1 impairs the breakdown of ceroid, a waxy substance. Without PPT1, ceroid builds up in brain cells, eventually resulting in infantile Batten disease.

The deaths of more than 74 000 children from tuberculosis (TB) could be prevented each year through measures outlined in the first ever action plan developed specifically on TB and children.

Selectively bred strains of laboratory rats that either prefer or avoid alcohol have been a mainstay of alcohol research for decades. So-called alcohol-preferring rats voluntarily consume much greater amounts of alcohol than do non-preferring rats.

Over the 17 years of the study, researchers recorded increases in bed-sharing among all racial and ethnic groups; however, the increases were most notable among African American and Hispanic families. Bed-sharing can increase the risk of unexpected infant death, including SIDS, which is also more common among African American infants, the researchers said.

A study in South Africa and Zambia will assess whether house-to-house voluntary HIV testing and prompt treatment of HIV infection, along with other proven HIV prevention measures, can substantially reduce the number of new HIV infections across communities.