by Matt Cyr on December 30, 2009
In case you missed it, Margaret Chan, MD, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), yesterday cautioned the world that the H1N1 pandemic is not over, even though you’re not hearing as much about it in the media or around the watercooler. “It is too premature and too early for us to say we have come to an end of the pandemic influenza worldwide,” Dr. Chan said at a press conference.
With much less attention being paid to H1N1 these days, Thrive asked Claire McCarthy, MD, a pediatrician and the medical director of Children’s Martha Eliot Health Center, if she thought families could stop worrying about the virus—and whether people should still get vaccinated if they haven’t already. Here’s what she had to say: [click to continue…]
by Claire McCarthy on December 29, 2009
From swine flu to obesity to dangerous plastics, many issues that affect children’s health garnered media attention in the year 2009. Here’s a rundown of the some of the biggest and most important stories:
H1N1
This is the story that caught the most attention—for good reason. Not only is the H1N1 influenza virus very contagious, it appears to particularly affect young people. H1N1 caused more pediatric hospitalizations and deaths than we usually see with the seasonal influenza virus, which is very scary for parents (and pediatricians!). The virus led to countless school closings—sometimes to control the spread, and sometimes because there weren’t enough teachers left to teach! [click to continue…]
by Matt Cyr on December 15, 2009
In case you missed it, the CDC today recalled 800,000 H1N1 vaccine doses meant for children, age 6 months to nearly 3 years old because they lost some of their strength after being released to the public. The good news is that there are no risks to any child who was vaccinated and you don’t need to get your child re-vaccinated if he or she got doses from the recalled batch; it just may be that your child isn’t quite as protected from H1N1 as you originally thought.
Check out the CDC’s Q&A on the topic.
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on December 13, 2009
Here’s a quick look at what Thrive was up to last week.
Why are suicide clusters more common in teens? Children’s Global Fellow Stephen Sullivan, MD, MPH, addresses the global burden of surgical diseases. KABC in Los Angeles interviewed Children’s Hanno Steen, PhD, about a urine test that quickly identifies cases of appendicitis. Children’s Center for Young Women’s Health youth advisor, Erica, writes a compelling review of the movie, Precious. The HealthMap team gives us our final H1N1 update. David Ludwig, MD, PhD, director of Children’s Optimal Weight for Life Program, just published a commentary in JAMA expressing concern about the widespread use of artificial sweeteners in soft drinks. Our Mediatrician talks about how negative portrayals of black women in movies affects teens. We give a roundup on all of the news this week on the fight for what our children should be eating and drinking.
by The HealthMap Team on December 10, 2009
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on November 22, 2009
by Childrens Hospital Boston staff on November 21, 2009
Other stories we’ve been reading:
A new study says your child is more likely to become a criminal if they don’t have good fear conditioning. Pediatricians are ordering Viagra for children with heart defects.
A new report says too much food, not a lack of exercise, is to blame for teen obesity, and researchers find that toddlers and obese kids suffer the most from secondhand smoke.
More kids’ lives are saved as the cost of child vaccines fall and Santa says he wants his H1N1 vaccine too.
by Matt Cyr on November 20, 2009
Thanks to H1N1, Halloween came on November 15 for the Lord and Ladies of the Cyr household
My wife, Sara, and I are the proud parents of newly minted 4-year-old triplets, and this fall we just haven’t been able to get healthy in our house. We get over one illness and another one crops up a week later. Fevers come and go. Coughs are incessant. Headaches bloom and recede. It’s been never-ending.
So none of us was feeling particularly well on the Thursday before Halloween when Sara called me at work and told me she had spiked a fever. We weren’t sure it was H1N1, but working in the Public Affairs Department here at Children’s Hospital Boston, I spend much of my time communicating about swine flu, so I know fever is one of the bellwether symptoms. Alarm bells started going off in my head because, unfortunately, like the rest of the poor, huddled masses, the Cyrs were waiting for the H1N1 vaccine to be made available.
As soon as I got home from work, I shuttled Sara off to her parents’ house and called my parents to come help me with the kids. The next day was relatively quiet; Sara was miserable but quarantined (and, frankly, enjoying the room service and uninterrupted silence), and the kids and I were doing OK.
Then came Saturday, October 31. [click to continue…]
Here are this week’s H1N1 updates from the 
