Conversations… | with Dr. Greene

What happens when pregnant women get bitten by a mosquito? West Nile virus infection has become increasingly common in the United States. In 2003 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received reports of about 9,100 new people with West Nile virus (WNV). This is more than double the number of cases in 2002.

Thankfully, many parents have gotten the message that fast food fare for kids is often unhealthy - providing far more calories, bad fat, and salt than kids should get, while skimping on the nutrients they need to grow strong, vibrant minds and bodies. But the kids’ meals at popular sit-down family restaurants are often even worse, according to a study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest published in the March 2004 issue of the Nutrition Action Healthletter.

The tide can be turned! Canadians have scored a victory in the bacteria battle. For more than a decade, the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been increasing around the world, and has appeared unstoppable to many. This problem has been fueled by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics.

Pediatricians who treat cancer are poised to petition the World Health Organization to add leukemia medicines for children to the WHO essential drugs list, according to a February 16, 2004 report to the Agence de Presse Medicale. If the WHO does this, it could make a huge change for many families around the world.

Breastfed babies have longer sleep cycles than formula-fed babies, according to a study in the January 2004 Archives of Diseases in Childhood, but the breastfed babies are also more easily awaken. This might help to prevent SIDS.

About 4 million babies are born each year in the United States. Although there is one troubling new statistic, most babies born in the U.S. today can look forward to quite a long future, according to the February 2004 numbers from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). Life expectancy has increased again for both men and women, and for blacks and whites.

One Key to Happiness, Self-Esteem, and Success

The less sleep children get, the more likely they are to perform poorly in school, to become depressed, and to have a poor sense of self-worth, according to a study of 2,259 Illinois middle school students published in the January-February 2004 issue of Child Development.

Even though most of us have heard that it’s not safe for kids to ride in the front seat, millions of adults in the United States put their kids up front every day. About 6 percent of all kids under 12 are riding in the front seat, according to February 2004 statistics from the National Safety Council.

Although childhood asthma has been increasing in recent years, children with higher blood levels of important antioxidant nutrients are less likely to develop asthma, according to a large study in the February 1, 2004 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

About 630,000 babies are born in the U.S. each year with dangerous levels of mercury in their blood, according to the shocking 2004 figures of the Environmental Protection Agency.

I don’t want to be a projectile weapon. Most of us know that seatbelts and car seats protect the people using these safety devices. But they also protect others in the car. Unrestrained passengers risk not only their own lives, but also the lives of other people. Collisions can catapult unrestrained occupants passengers in the car that would otherwise occur!

The most important reality show on television is the campaign for Election 2004. Like other reality shows, viewers have the opportunity to watch contestants perform in a variety of styles and settings. But our votes in this show influence not just the music we listen to but the fabric of the country where our kids will grow up.

A huge study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention followed a total of 177,304 low-income children at public health clinics from birth to age 5. Breastfeeding for more than 6 months was associated with a healthier weight after age 4 among the non-Hispanic white children in the study.