Research has shown that following a healthy eating plan can both reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure and lower an already elevated blood pressure.

For an overall eating plan, consider the DASH eating plan. "DASH" stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension," a clinical study that tested the effects of nutrients in food on blood pressure. Study results indicated that elevated blood pressures were reduced by an eating plan that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, and lowfat dairy foods and is low in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol. The DASH eating plan includes whole grains, poultry, fish, and nuts and has reduced amounts of fats, red meats, sweets, and sugared beverages.

A second clinical study, called "DASH-Sodium," looked at the effect of a reduced dietary sodium intake on blood pressure as people followed either the DASH eating plan or a typical American diet. Results showed that reducing dietary sodium lowered blood pressure for both the DASH eating plan and the typical American diet. The biggest blood pressure-lowering benefits were for those eating the DASH eating plan at the lowest sodium level (1,500 milligrams per day).

The DASH-Sodium study shows the importance of lowering sodium intake whatever your diet. But for a true winning combination, follow the DASH eating plan and lower your intake of salt and sodium.

Low-Fat Seafood Gumbo

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (15-ounce) can whole tomatoes
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 4 cups clam juice
• 8 ounces fresh okra, tops trimmed and halved lengthwise
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
• 3 blue crabs, quartered, optional
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 dozen shucked oysters, liquid reserved
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 pound lump crabmeat
• Serving suggestion: cooked white rice

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Put the flour on a baking sheet and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the flour is a dark nut brown.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven, heat the oil with the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, pepper, celery, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, crushing them through your fingers into the pot with their juices and cook for another 5 minutes. Gradually sift the browned flour in the pot until the vegetables are coated, cook for 2 minutes more. Slowly pour in the stock and clam juice, stirring constantly. Add the okra, bay leaves, lemon juice, salt, cayenne, thyme, and crabs. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

Add the shrimp, oysters with their liquid, green onions and parsley; cook until the shrimp turn pink, about 3 minutes. Add the lump crabmeat and season the gumbo, to taste. Serve with rice.

What are poisons?

Poisons are things that can make people sick or even die if they get into the body or onto the skin.

Poisons can be:

chemicals used around the house or garden

drugs or chemicals from plants

found in insects bites or stings

smoke or fumes in the air, which may be breathed into the body

How poisons can get into your body

There are four main ways that poisons can get into the body.

1. Through the mouth and swallowing it.
2. Absorbed through the skin
3. By injection – including bites and stings
4. By breathing in, or inhaling [say in-hay-ling]

If some has been poisoned – through the skin

Some poisons can be absorbed [get into the body] through the skin [eg poisons from some plants, some chemicals used round the garden, and some cleaning powders eg dishwasher powder].

To care for someone who has been in contact with poison:

Immediately wash off that area of their body with lots of water. You can use a fast running tap or hose.

If there is a powder on the skin that might be a poison, brush off the powder – use a tissue or cloth not your hand, then wash the rest of it away.

Dishwasher powders are made more dangerous by water so brush off really carefully before using fast running water which will get the powder off without doing too much harm.

Do not put anything on the affected skin unless you have been told to by the Poisons Information Centre.

If the poison has made the skin red, sore or blistered, your friend needs to be checked by a doctor or nurse.

Sometimes powder or other chemicals can get into the eyes where they can cause a lot of damage.

If someone does get something into his eyes, wash the powder out of the eyes with lots of water and keep on doing this until someone arrives to help you.
If there is no adult around to help, then call for an ambulance and follow the instructions given to you over the phone.

An appointed person is someone who:
0 takes charge when someone is injured or
becomes ill;
0 looks after the first-aid equipment eg restocking
the first-aid container;
0 ensures that an ambulance or other professional
medical help is summoned when appropriate.
022 Appointed persons are not first aiders. They
should not give first aid treatment for which they
have not been trained. However, it is good
practice to ensure that appointed persons have
emergency first aid training/refresher training, as
appropriate. These courses do not require HSE
approval. They normally last four hours and cover
the following topics:
0 what to do in an emergency;
0 cardiopulmonary resuscitation;
0 first aid for the unconscious casualty;
0 first aid for the wounded or bleeding.

Emergency first-aid training should help an
appointed person cope with an emergency and
improve their competence and confidence.

If possible, before you try to stop severe bleeding, wash your hands to avoid infection and put on synthetic gloves. Don’t reposition displaced organs. If the wound is abdominal and organs have been displaced, don’t try to push them back into place. Cover the wound with a dressing.

For other cases of severe bleeding, follow these steps:

1. Have the injured person lie down. If possible, position the person’s head slightly lower than the trunk or elevate the legs. This position reduces the risk of fainting by increasing blood flow to the brain. If possible, elevate the site of bleeding.
2. While wearing gloves, remove any obvious dirt or debris from the wound. Don’t remove any large or more deeply embedded objects. Don’t probe the wound or attempt to clean it at this point. Your principal concern is to stop the bleeding.
3. Apply pressure directly on the wound. Use a sterile bandage, clean cloth or even a piece of clothing. If nothing else is available, use your hand.
4. Maintain pressure until the bleeding stops. Hold continuous pressure for at least 20 minutes without looking to see if the bleeding has stopped. You can maintain pressure by binding the wound tightly with a bandage (or even a piece of clean clothing) and adhesive tape.
5. Don’t remove the gauze or bandage. If the bleeding continues and seeps through the gauze or other material you are holding on the wound, don’t remove it. Instead, add more absorbent material on top of it.
6. Squeeze a main artery if necessary. If the bleeding doesn’t stop with direct pressure, apply pressure to the artery delivering blood to the area of the wound. Pressure points of the arm are on the inside of the arm just above the elbow and just below the armpit. Pressure points of the leg are just behind the knee and in the groin. Squeeze the main artery in these areas against the bone. Keep your fingers flat. With your other hand, continue to exert pressure on the wound itself.
7. Immobilize the injured body part once the bleeding has stopped. Leave the bandages in place and get the injured person to the emergency room as soon as possible.

Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza A/(H5N1) Reported to WHO (World Health Organization): since 2003

Azerbaijan
cases = 8
deaths = 5

Bangladesh
cases = 1
deaths = 0

Cambodia
cases = 8
deaths = 7

China
cases = 30
deaths = 20

Djibouti
cases = 1
deaths = 0

Egypt
cases = 50
deaths = 22

Indonesia
cases = 139
deaths = 113

Iraq
cases = 3
deaths = 2

Laos
cases = 2
deaths = 2

Myanmar
cases = 1
deaths = 0

Nigeria
cases = 1
deaths = 1

Pakistan
cases = 3
deaths = 1

Thailand
cases = 25
deaths = 17

Turkey
cases = 12
deaths = 4

Viet Nam
cases = 106
deaths = 52

Total
cases = 390
deaths = 246

Total number of cases includes number of deaths.
WHO reports only laboratory-confirmed cases. (12 December, 2008)

Over 60 countries have reported outbreaks of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza since 2003.

More than 300 million birds have died or been destroyed in an effort to prevent further spread of the virus, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
That level of disease among domestic flocks has been characterized as an animal pandemic, and a costly one. $2.5 billion has gone into the international effort to control and eradicate the disease.

1. What is avian influenza?

Avian influenza (such as H5N1, H9N2) is a type of influenza A. It was known previously to infect birds only, but 18 human cases caused by the H5N1 strain were documented in Hong Kong in 1997 and another two were documented in 2003.

2. What is the difference between viruses causing human influenza and those causing avian influenza?

Human influenza and avian influenza are both caused by influenza viruses. In Hong Kong, human influenza is commonly caused by influenza A (H3N2), influenza A (H1N1) and influenza B viruses, while avian influenza is commonly caused by influenza A (H5N1) and influenza A (H9N2) viruses.

3. What are the symptoms of avian influenza?

The initial symptoms of avian influenza are similar to those of other influenza viruses, including fever, headache, muscle pain, runny nose, cough and sore throat. However, it is more likely to result in high fever, chest infection, respiratory failure, multi-organ failure, and death.

4. How can I tell the difference between having avian influenza and SARS?

You cannot differentiate between avian influenza and SARS by symptoms alone. Confirmation of diagnosis will depend on laboratory tests on clinical samples from the patient.

Transmission

5. How is avian influenza transmitted?

Avian influenza is transmitted from infected live birds to humans. Human-to-human transmission is inefficient. Outbreaks of avian influenza in poultry have recently been reported in some Asian and European countries, and some cases of human infection have been reported. Hong Kong has an effective surveillance system for influenza in birds and humans. The Department of Health has been closely monitoring the situation and has adopted appropriate preventive measures to guard against the disease.

6. Why bother if the H5N1 virus does not usually infect humans?

Avian influenza is transmitted from infected live birds to humans. Although human-to-human transmission is inefficient, all influenza viruses have the ability to change genetically, and scientists are concerned that the H5N1 virus could one day be able to spread easily from one person to another. Because the virus does not commonly infect humans, there is little or no immune protection against it in the human population. If the H5N1 virus could spread easily from person to person, an influenza pandemic could occur. No one can predict when a pandemic might strike. However, experts from around the world are watching the H5N1 situation very closely and are preparing for the possibility that the virus may begin to spread more easily and widely from person to person.

7. Who is susceptible to contracting the disease?

People in close contact with poultry are more susceptible to contracting avian flu. The elderly, children and people with chronic illness have a higher risk of developing complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia.

Do you remember this?

Hong Kong health authorities closed down a poultry market here Saturday after excrement samples collected from hencoops at the marketplace were confirmed infected with the deadly strain of H5N1 avian influenza virus.

Dr. York Chow, Secretary for Food and Health, announced at a press conference here Saturday afternoon that the Po On Road Market in Kowloon an infected area of the H5N1 virus and ordered the immediate suspension of trading in the market.

Chow said after days of laboratory testings, five of the 20 excrement samples collected from three poultry stores on June 3 were confirmed H5N1 positive and an order was issued immediately to cull about 2,700 chickens in the market.

"We are still investigating on the source of the H5N1 virus infections," he said, adding other 64 poultry markets had reported no H5N1 cases.

Chow said there has been no report of human case of H5N1 infections but the department had decided to raise the response level from "vigilance" to "serious" in the city.

In response to the latest H5N1 virus find, Chow said, the Food and Health Department had suspended immediately the live poultry imports from the Chinese mainland and trading from local chicken farms will be suspended immediately

He said such suspension will last for as long as 21 days if necessary.

Chow said the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government had noticed the Ministry of Agriculture and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on the latest development of bird flu in Hong Kong.

Chow said there had been no unusual incidents reported in the registered chicken farm in the Chinese mainland and none abnormal death of poultry had been reported by store owners during the past days.

Thomas Tsang, Controller of the Center for Health Protection, said the center would conduct health checkups and prescribe anti- virus medicine for those people in close contact with live poultry.

Tsang also called on doctors in the city to quickly report suspected cases of H5N1 infection to the center once they diagnose those patients with a fever.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said they would strengthen the testing of live poultry on the bird flu virus and disinfecting of poultry whole sale markets.

Scientists are looking at a novel strategy to prevent the spread of pandemic avian influenza. They have developed a vaccine that protects ducks, a known natural reservoir for the virus.

Waterfowl are considered to be the natural reservoir of influenza A viruses due to the isolation of all subtypes from these hosts. Current research indicates that influenza A viruses are continuously evolving within their natural environment and can be transmitted to a variety of animals, including humans. H5N1 avian influenza A viruses are now endemic in domestic poultry in many Asian countries and ducks are believed to be the primary source of infection. Reducing the spread of H5N1 in ducks could play a key role in minimizing the risk of a pandemic outbreak.

In the study researchers first identified dominant pathogenic strains of H5N1 influenza A viruses circulating in Asian poultry and found that four caused symptomatic illness in domestic ducks, but not all were lethal. In addition the researchers reversed the genetics of the viruses in domestic ducks to develop three different inactivated oil emulsion whole-virus H5 influenza vaccines. Following one round of inoculation with the vaccines ducks were completely protected when challenged with a lethal dose of the H5N1 virus.

"The vaccines provided complete protection against the lethal challenge of the homologous and heterologous H5N1 avian influenza A virus with no evidence of morbidity, mortality, or shedding of the challenge virus," say the researchers. "The complete protection offered by these vaccines will be useful for reducing the shedding of H5N1 avian influenza A viruses among vaccinated agricultural avian populations."

The concern is greatest in rural areas of affected countries, where traditional free-ranging ducks, chickens and wildlife mingle, frequently sharing the same source of water, according to a joint statement by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Office International des Epizooties (OIE).

Findings pointing to an altered role for domestic ducks join other recent evidence that the H5N1 virus circulating in parts of Asia has increased its virulence in chickens and mice (a laboratory model for mammals), and has expanded its host range to include mammals, such as certain members of the felidae family (e.g. cats and tigers), not previously considered susceptible to infection.