- The ARC - California Edition -

Food For Preventive Thought

Wear a Bike Helmet
Common sense tells us that wearing a bicycle helmet is a good practice. Every year the records have shown us that in the US alone nearly 900 bike riders get killed and another half a million have their injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms.

In the communities where bicycle helmets are used and in vogue, head injuries dramatically dropped -- by up to 85%. Protect your brain. Wear a helmet.

Rubella Changing Course
During the past three years, 1994 to 1996, the “childhood” disease, rubella has struck mostly teen- agers and adults.

A press release issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this summer revealed that people aged 15 and older accounted for more than 80% of the 567 rubella cases reported during the 3-year period.

Rubella, also known as German measles, or the 3-day measles, normally presents itself as a pink rash on the face that spreads to the chest, arms and legs. It also can cause a fever and joint pains and is considered to be a mild disease.

However, if a pregnant woman gets the disease during her first trimester, it often has devastating effects on her fetus, causing birth defects such as cataracts, hearing problems, heart trouble and mental retardation. Between the years 1994 to 1996, there were 12 US babies born with the "congenital rubella syndrome".

Almost all of the persons who got rubella during the past 3 years were born outside the United States in countries without a vaccination program, according to the CDC researchers. They also theorize that some American-born baby boomers may have missed out on the shots. The vaccine for rubella was developed in 1969 at a time when each year 50,000 to 60,000 cases were being reported nationwide. During the period of this study, less than 200 cases annually are reported to the CDC. Through the first six months of 1997, only 47 cases of rubella were reported.