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According to a report published by the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, a study of children in the New Bedford, Massachusetts, area suggests that fish consumption during pregnancy may be associated with a lower risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-related behaviors, and that, low-level prenatal mercury exposure may be associated with a greater risk of these (ADHD)-related behaviors.
ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders of childhood and affects 8 percent to 12 percent of children worldwide, although its cause is not well understood. The developmental neurotoxicity of mercury is known, but the findings from epidemiological studies are inconsistent with some studies showing associations between mercury exposure and ADHD-related behaviors and others reporting null associations, according to the study background.
Updates into the investigation of the deadly new Sars-like coronavirus have indicated that the pathogen does not “appear” to be easily transmitted. In a statement, the World Health Organization said, “From the information available thus far, it appears that the novel coronavirus cannot be easily transmitted from person-to-person.”
The agency also said that no new cases have thus far been identified.
Background
On 22 September 2012, the United Kingdom (UK) informed WHO of a case of acute respiratory syndrome with travel history to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The case is a previously healthy, 49 year-old male Qatari national that presented with symptoms on 3 September 2012 with travel history to Saudi Arabia several days prior to onset of illness. On 7 September he was admitted to an intensive care unit in Doha, Qatar. On 11 September, he was transferred to the UK by air ambulance from Qatar. The Health Protection Agency of the UK (HPA) conducted laboratory testing and subsequently confirmed the presence of the novel coronavirus.
The HPA compared information from the clinical sample collected from the 49 year-old Qatari national with that of a virus sequenced previously by the Erasmus University Medical Centre, Netherlands. This latter isolate was obtained from lung tissue of a fatal case earlier this year in a 60 year-old Saudi national. This comparison indicated 99.5% identity, with one nucleotide mismatch over the regions compared.*
Though it is a very different virus to SARS, given the severity of the two confirmed cases so far, WHO is engaged in further characterizing the novel coronavirus. As such, international efforts are being stepped up across all WHO six regions to ensure an appropriate and effective response with a WHO specialist team in daily contact with more than a dozen international and regional technical partners.
Published reports say a deadly new Sars-like coronavirus has been identified originating from the Middle East. The Sars virus spread across the globe in 2003 resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people. This new virus was first seen in a patient in Saudi Arabia who has subsequently died.
At the time of publication, no travel advisories have been issued by the World Health Organization. Another case of this new virus is being treated in a 49 year old man who was flown for treatment from Qatar to the United Kingdom.
According to a story by the BBC, the severity of the illness is cause for significant concern and caution, though rapid spread of the infection does not appear a risk at the moment:
Prof John Watson, head of the respiratory diseases department at the UK’s Health Protection Agency, said: “In the light of the severity of the illness that has been identified in the two confirmed cases, immediate steps have been taken to ensure that people who have been in contact with the UK case have not been infected, and there is no evidence to suggest that they have.
Recent news reports claim that fish oil supplements of Omega-3 fatty acids don’t have the same health and heart protecting benefits of eating oily fish. So this begged the question, do the delicious smoked fish like Lox offer the same benefits as salmon sushi (raw) or cooked salmon? Read the link to find out what Harvard has to say on the subject.
