Guest Author - Amy Anaruk

For the week ending June 16, 2007

Broad-Spectrum or Heavy Antibiotic Use in Infants Linked to Asthma

Researchers from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg report that babies under the age of one are much more likely to develop asthma if given antibiotics for non-respiratory infections. And the more antibiotics, the higher the risk. Using broad-spectrum antibiotics when narrow-spectrum antibiotics are warranted also raises the risk.

The study followed 13,116 children from birth to seven years, and just one or two courses of antibiotics during the first year of life increased asthma risk by 21 percent. Three to four brought a 30 percent increase, and 4 or more brought a 46 percent increase.

One theory suggests that early antibiotic use kills off too much of the bad bacteria as well as the good, weakening a baby�s developing immune system.

(Study published in Chest journal, June 2007 Researchers: Anita L. Kozyrskyj, PhD; Pierre Ernst, MD, and Allan B. Becker, MD)


Georgia Environmentalists Block Construction of New Coal-Fired Power Plant

Environmentalists in Southwest Georgia are among the first to take advantage of a recent Supreme Court ruling that requires power plants to place limits on polluting emissions. Two environmental groups have asked a judge to block Dynegy-LS Power from building another coal-fired power plant in the state. Georgia already contains 10 coal-fired plants.

The Georgia Environmental Protection Division recently issued the company a permit to build the new plant without meeting national standards for CO2 or other emissions. Coal-fired power plants produce massive amounts of smog, the most harmful kind of air pollution for people with asthma or other breathing problems. The American Lung Association currently ranks the Atlanta area as the 13th worst polluted city in the U.S. for year-round particle pollution.

(Adapted in part from an Environment Georgia press release)

In similar news, here's what happens when industry is concerned about air quality:

Computer Industry Initiative to Make Major Reductions in Greenhouse Gases

Google, Intel, Dell, and Microsoft have joined other major computer companies and some environmental organizations to form the Climate Savers Computing Initiative.

The group set an aggressive 90 percent efficiency rate for new computers and related power supplies, with the goal of cutting 54 million tons of greenhouse gases a year. The companies involved also pledge to use the most energy-efficient computers and components in the workplace.

Consumers can join the group, too, by purchasing the more energy-efficient machines and visiting the website at www.climatesaverscomputing.org to learn how to conserve energy with home computers.

If the group meets its goal by 2010, it will reduce harmful emissions like carbon dioxide at a level equivalent to removing 11 million cars from the road.

(Adapted from a Climate Savers Computing Initiative press release)



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"Smile, breathe and go slowly." -Thich Nhat Hanh



This article is not written by a medical professional, and information on this page should never be substituted for your physcian's advice. If you have any questions about your asthma and/or allergies, you should always contact your physician first.