14, August 2014

AU, WHO work closely to contain Ebola virus

Addis Ababa: A pan-African organisation and UN's health agency have been working closely to address the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus which has killed more than 1,000 people since earlier this year.

Speaking in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa Wednesday, the officials from the African Union (AU) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the two organisations have forged excellent collaboration to respond to Ebola virus outbreak, which has so far affected Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, Xinhua reported.

AU said there is a possibility that the outbreak may spread to other countries in West Africa and beyond if effective measures including community engagement are not put in place.

The pan-African organisation underlined the need of various mechanisms to be put in place to ensure that African countries are prepared to deal with the threat and also other nations across West Africa remain on high alert.

The current epidemic is the biggest and most complex that the West African region has experienced since the first outbreak of the virus in 1976.

AU Commissioner for Social Affairs, Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko noted that Ebola epidemic is an African problem about which AU is highly concerned.

The first time, AU directly addressed the problem was during the joint conference of WHO and AU ministers of health held in Luanda, Angola in April, where a strong communique was issued towards what Africa should be doing about the Ebola epidemic, the Commissioner said.

"Right from that time, the first issue we address was that African countries that had experience in handling this epidemic should all put their hands together and assist their brothers in Liberia, Serra Leone, and Guinea," Kaloko added.

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

14.08.2014

Too much exercise may be bad for health

Washington: Contrary to the popular belief, more exercise is not always better as too much running could lead to an increase in cardiovascular deaths in heart attack survivors, a new study has claimed.

There is strong epidemiological evidence of the importance of regular physical activity, such as brisk walking and jogging, in the management and rehabilitation of cardiovascular disease and in lowering the risk of death from other diseases such as hypertension, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, researchers said.

However, there is clear evidence of an increase in cardiovascular deaths in heart attack survivors who exercise to excess, according to the study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

Researchers at the Department of Cardiology, Hartford Hospital in US, studied the relationship between exercise and cardiovascular disease-related deaths in about 2,400 physically active heart attack survivors.

The study confirmed previous reports indicating that the cardiovascular benefits for walking and running were equivalent, as long as the energy expenditures were the same.

Remarkable dose-dependent reductions in deaths from cardiovascular events of up to 65 per cent were seen among patients who were running less than 30 miles or walking less than 46 miles per week.

Beyond this point, however, much of the benefit of exercise was lost, in what is described as a reverse J-curve pattern.

"These analyses provide what is to our knowledge the first data in humans demonstrating a statistically significant increase in cardiovascular risk with the highest levels of exercise," said researchers.

"Results suggest that the benefits of running or walking do not accrue indefinitely and that above some level, perhaps 30 miles per week of running, there is a significant increase in risk. Competitive running events also appear to increase the risk of an acute event," they said.

However, they point out that "our study population consisted of heart attack survivors and so the findings cannot be readily generalised to the entire population of heavy exercisers."

Source: www.zeenews.india.com

14.08.2014

If Hard Work is your Weapon success will be your slave