Ali just called me to tell me about her great trip to Paris and skiing in the Alps and it reminded me how gorgeous Paris is. Laur and I went a couple of summers ago and to the left is one of my pictures of the Eiffel Tower. On this rainy, icy day I wish I was back there!

Dr. Sanjay Gupta as Surgeon General?

The Washington Post reports that Obama wants CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta as the next Surgeon General. At first, I totally rejected this idea because I felt that it was just putting a "celebrity doctor" in a very important job when our health care system needs a major overhaul. After reading about him, however, I found that he does have some experience in health policy with Hilary Clinton. This is not necessarily the kind of health policy that I agree with since Hilary's plans have always been rejected as too expensive and they would most certainly not be approved in the current economic state. I do not know what Dr. Gupta's personal views are on what kind of improvements can be made on our health system, but I do agree with him on some of his actions within the health community. He encourages Americans to live healthier and active lives including the "Fit to Lead" program that encourages presidential candidates to lead healthy lives as a good example to others. I agree with this viewpoint and think it should be expanded. For example, federal workplaces should be examples of healthy work environments and federal grants should only be given to organizations that follow these examples of health promotion. Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of the CDC, gave a great speech about these and other steps that should be taken to improve our health system.

If Dr. Gupta encourages these and other positive changes, I would support him as Surgeon General. It helps that he has celebrity status because his role is illuminated. The only thing that I am cautious about is his view on health policy. I hope that he realizes that it is not the right environment to promote nationalized health care and I can not think of a time when it would be an appropriate step for the U.S. to take. Nationalized health care will be a topic for another day! Our health system needs to be improved; I think that Dr. Gerberding, in her speech linked to above, has some great ideas that we can begin to act upon in the looong journey to an improved health system (notice I do not say "health care system" because improving health begins before the doctor's office with prevention!). Let's hope the current and future administrations recognize the importance of these issues.

Unfortunate Reminder of Avian Influenza

Interesting Reuters article...

China confirms woman died of bird flu in Beijing


BEIJING/HONGKONG (Reuters) - A 19-year-old woman has died of the H5N1 bird flu virus in Beijing after coming into contact with poultry, health authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong said on Tuesday.

This human H5N1 case would be China's first in almost a year. Experts said while the case was not unexpected as the virus is more active during the cooler months between October and March, it points to holes in surveillance of the virus in poultry.

With the world's biggest poultry population and hundreds of millions of farmers raising birds in their backyards, China is seen as crucial in the global fight against bird flu.

"The woman fell ill on December 24, was hospitalized on December 27 and died on Monday (at) 7.20 am," the Beijing Municipal Bureau said in a faxed statement.

Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection said the woman had had contact with poultry before falling ill.

China's official Xinhua News Agency earlier reported that the woman from eastern Fujian province had bought nine ducks at a market in Hebei province, which surrounds Beijing, and then gutted the birds.

She gave three ducks to her father, uncle and a friend and kept the other six ducks, the agency reported.

It added that 116 people, including the patient's 14 family members and neighbor and 102 medical workers, had been in close contact with the patient.

"In many parts of the world, human H5N1 cases are due to contact with infected poultry. A human case would confirm that there is poultry infection somewhere in the vicinity," said a virologist in Hong Kong who declined to be identified.

"It means that there are some leaks in surveillance in the poultry side (in China)," he said.

"Of course, we are approaching Chinese New Year and there is an increase in production, movement in poultry. That's why there's an increase in poultry infection."

The H5N1 remains largely a disease among birds but experts fear it could change into a form that is easily transmitted from person to person, and spark a pandemic that can kill millions of people worldwide.

Beijing has reported the case to the World Health Organization and health authorities in Hong Kong and Macau, and convened an emergency meeting to handle the bird flu case.

The WHO in Beijing said it had offered technical assistance.

Since the H5N1 virus resurfaced in Asia in 2003, it has infected 391 people, killing 247 of them, according to WHO figures released in mid-December.

The last human H5N1 death in China was in February last year when a 44-year-old woman died in the southern Guangdong province.

At least 20 people have died of bird flu in China to date.

In neighboring Vietnam, a five-year-old has been infected with bird flu, the first human case reported in the country this year, Vietnam's state-run television said on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom, Yu Le and Ben Blanchard in Beijing and Tan Ee Lyn in Hong Kong; Editing by Sugita Katyal)



This is a scary reminder that bird flu is not something that we can turn our back to because it has not spread as quickly as first predicted. In this article alone, we can see how fast the virus would spread in China and to the rest of the world. The young woman was in contact with 116 people, the majority of which were medical workers, which is precisely how the SARS virus became a pandemic. It remains critical to continue and to improve the surveillance systems in place and to develop preparedness plans, especially within medical facilities. It is also important to keep up good relations with countries in Southeast Asia where bird flu is most likely to develop so that they continue to report cases to the U.S. so that we can implement control measures to prevent further spread.

NEW YEARS EVE!

New Years Eve in Austin, Texas. We had a blast! New Years Eve Day we had a BBQ taste off. We went to four different BBQ places and got a sample of their brisket, ribs, and sausage. To me, being a Yankee, these BBQ places are very strange. There is basically nothing to order besides meat. Often, they do not even provide you with forks - just knives and some white bread that I think you are supposed to use to pick up the meat. I am not a huge meat eater - so many calories! - so I set out to find some alternative and came up with an avocado, a few chunks of cheddar cheese, and some tomatoes. I did participate in the taste off, which was part of Matt's fraternity brother's birthday celebration. His wife, Kelly, was so cute - she even had sheets for us to score the four different places. City Market turned out to be the winner!

After eating all that food, Matt and I returned to his parent's house to nap and to prepare for that night. We met a bunch of Matt's friends for dinner and to celebrate Jarrett's 30th birthday at Moonshine, a cute restaurant in downtown Austin. The food, drinks, and company were great! We then headed to a few bars downtown and then headed to Ace's Lounge which Matt's friend, Brendan, co-owns. We had five booths with bottle service and champagne at midnight. The band was fun and the atmosphere was great. We danced a lot and had a fantastic time! My only regret is that I didn't get to see the ball drop in NYC!

Brie's Blog

Make sure that you take a look at one of my best friend Brie's blog - it's really interesting. I spent like an hour reading it yesterday. Hey - I am still on break!!

Movie Reviews

While in Austin this past week, Matt and I had the opportunity to see two movies (both in the same day!). The first one we saw was Benjamin Button with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. I had heard that the movie dragged on and was about half an hour longer than it should be, so I was not expecting great thing as I hate being bored in the movie theatre. Fortunately, I do not know what these people were talking about because not once was I bored. The movie is long - 159 minutes - but I was entertained the entire time. The acting is superb. The characters are multi-dimensional and they help keep the movie grounded in reality even though the plot is pretty fantastical. There are many thought-provoking themes including real versus perceived age, how timing can really affect relationships, and the quest to explore and accomplish something in the short period of a lifetime. The only aspect that Matt felt really did not fit in with the movie was the fact that Katrina is involved in the end. It seemed to have nothing to do with any of the other plots.

I would definitely recommend this movie. It is a very different concept with very familiar themes that everyone can relate to. It is now one of my favorite movies!

Later that night, we went to the Alamo theater with a few friends. It is really cool theater. They play some offbeat and classic movies. There are long tables in front of each row of seats and you can order food and drinks during the movie by putting order slips on a clip on the table. We decided to see Doubt with Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. Matt and I both love Phillip Seymour Hoffman (especially in Charlie Wilson's War -SEE IT!!), so we were interested in seeing his performance. All three actors give great performances. Meryl Streep is so versatile and it is amazing to see her transformation from the carefree Mamma Mia to this very heavy role. This movie was based upon a play that, I believe, consisted of only two actors having a dialogue. I have to admit that I was pretty tired while seeing this movie (I have trouble staying out past 10 sometimes!) so I felt that it moved pretty slowly. Sometimes I would get impatient with the pauses and the seemingly unnecessary extra dialogue, but the overall messages and themes of the movie are great. They really get you thinking about what you would have done had you been in the position of the characters. The end leaves you asking questions and wondering how you would have tried to solve the issue.

I would recommend this movie, but I would say that you can wait to rent it. It is worth seeing because the performances are great and the plot is thought provoking.

My First Post!

Hello, this is my first attempt at blogging, so take it easy on me! I am running out the door in two minutes because I have a step class at the gym here in Hunterdon County (I am on an extended holiday break), but I wanted to try this out. I will be posting anything that I find that intrigues me, whether it be related to public health, current events, fashion, gossip, sports, or events/stories in my life. Thanks for reading and I promise to write more next time!