Story Archives of 'public health'

New Hampshire is number one... when it comes to childrens health.

That's according to the annual Kids Count survey compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

The Survey looks at several factors evaluating children's lives from low birth rates to drop out rates.

Despite the good news, Ellen Fineberg, President of the Childrens' Alliance New Hampshire, tells NHPR's Mark Bevis that bad news may be on the horizon.

Fineberg says the most recent survey is based on 2006 numbers.

She fully expects the poverty rate numbers to jump as the survey takes into account the recent economic downturn.

For most of us, summer mosquitoes are just an annoyance, but they can be dangerous if they carry Eastern Equine Encephalitis or West Nile Virus. Some towns spray insecticide each year to reduce the risk of these diseases, but others choose not to, saying there's potential harm in spraying as well. We’ll look at the debate over whether to spray or not to spray.

Guests

• Alan Eaton, entomologist with the UNH Cooperative Extension and coordinator of their Integrated Pest Management program
• Kim McNamara, Public Health Official for Portsmouth
• Melodie Esterberg, Public Works Director for Rochester
• Dr. Jason Stull, State Public Health Veterinarian at the Department of Health and Human Services

Research on cigarette addiction has long held that it takes years to develop the nicotine habit. But new research indicates that the symptoms of addiction - withdrawal, cravings, and failed attempts at quitting - can appear within the first week of smoking. That's even more cause for tobacco-prevention programs to keep kids from picking up the habit in the first place.

Here in New Hampshire, 20.5 percent of high school students smoke cigarettes. Last year, the state ranked dead last in the country for spending on tobacco prevention programs, with zero dollars spent on prevention, and it looks like New Hampshire will earn that dubious distinction again this year due to budget constraints. It's alarming, given that some scientists have found evidence of changes in the brain of novice smokers after just one dose of nicotine.

Word of Mouth host Virginia Prescott spoke about the research with John Rennie, editor-in-chief of Scientific American, which published the new findings in its May issue.

Read a preview of the Scientific American article "Hooked from the First Cigarette"

(Photo by Juan Jackson)

That nasty staph germ known as M-R-S-A or MRSA is in the spotlight again.

Public alarms sounded nationally after three children died from MRSA infections last month - including a 4-year-old from New Hampshire.

She may have picked up the bug at school.

Those stories typically make headlines.

But what rarely makes news is that far more people---tens of thousands---pick up MRSA infections at healthcare facilities

In New Hampshire - a law passed last year requiring hospitals to report infections publicly.

But that law wasn't funded - and it doesn't require reporting MRSA infections.

NHPR's Dianne Finch has more.

Like many states, New Hampshire jumped quickly to offer the HPV vaccine to girls as young as 11 years old.

The vaccine fights off four strains of the humanpapiloma virus – including two strains that cause 70% of cervical cancers.

But it’s priced higher than any vaccine to date - and already accounts for nearly 30% of the state's universal vaccine budget - just to cover the first round of inoculations.

So some health experts wonder if offering the vaccine is the best way to spend limited tax dollars.

NHPR’s Dianne Finch reports.