The Health News – 2 May 2016

Overview:
• Dr Anthony Coxon the Victorian president of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia says doctors from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), have overreacted to a video that was posted on YouTube of a newborn baby’s spine being manipulated to treat colic. 

• Grace Brandenburg, Perth teenager has launched an online petition to help protect an eating disorder program which she credits with saving her life.

• Scientists are set to release a virulent strain of herpes virus into carp in a bid to eradicate the pest from the Murray-Darling river system, in what Science Minister Christopher Pyne has dubbed a “carp-aggedon”.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the  2nd of May 2016. Read by Rebecca Foster. Health News

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-30/chiropractors-claim-treatment-of-baby-forceful-but-effective/7372936

The Victorian president of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia says doctors have overreacted to a video that showed a newborn baby’s spine being manipulated to treat colic.

The video, posted on YouTube, shows Melbourne chiropractor Ian Rossborough pressing down on the four-day-old premature baby’s back until it cracks.

The baby’s treatment has been criticised by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), which has called on its members to stop referring patients to chiropractors.

Dr Anthony Coxon, the president of the Victorian branch of the Chiropractors’ Association of Australia, said the treatment was forceful but effective.

“While I am uncomfortable with the procedure that was performed, it still is a safe procedure,” he said.

“I know it doesn’t look good, but the child did get a very good result … the colic symptoms had improved significantly.

“It is not the choice of technique that most chiropractors would use for those sorts of problems, but it is very effective and despite the fact that it doesn’t look good, it is still very safe.”

AMA Victoria president Dr Tony Bartone said there was no evidence to suggest spinal manipulation was effective at treating colic.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-30/eating-disorder-treatment-program-mothballed-petition-launched/7372440

A Perth teenager has launched an online petition to help protect an eating disorder program which she credits with saving her life.

…  Grace Brandenburg went from a happy, healthy 13-year-old girl to one reliant on a tube to force-feed her.

“I would stand up and I would get so dizzy and faint, and I was just so cold all of the time, and all my muscles had wasted. Everything was effort,” Ms Brandenburg, now 17, said.

“I remember one time just looking in the mirror and seeing how sick I’d gotten, and I just started crying because I didn’t know how to fix it.”

Ms Brandenburg was treated for Anorexia Nervosa at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), through an Eating Disorder Program which treats up to 160 similar patients a year.

“You forget how to listen to your body, because it gets to a point where you don’t feel hunger anymore,” she said.

“You just don’t want to eat, you don’t want to look at food, you don’t want to smell it. There was a point for me where I thought I could inhale calories.

While psychologists and patients say the hospital service is vital, part of the program, which treats patients during the day and allows them to return home at night, is now being put on hold for up to six months.

Ms Brandenburg said the decision would put young people at risk.

An online petition launched by the teenager calling for the program to continue running has already attracted more than 4,000 signatures.

Phil Lucas, who runs the Eating Disorder Program at PMH, said the decision to temporarily close the day program would only affect a small number of patients.

He said there were other services available.

The day program is expected to be reinstated when the new Perth Children’s Hospital opens later this year. The State Government has claimed that could be as early as October, but an official opening date is yet to be set.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-05-01/herpes-to-eradicate-carp-in-murray-river-pyne-says/7373736

Scientists are set to release a virulent strain of herpes virus into carp in a bid to eradicate the pest from the Murray-Darling river system, in what Science Minister Christopher Pyne has dubbed a “carp-aggedon”.

Speaking from Adelaide, Mr Pyne said the herpes strain cyprinid herpesvirus-3, to be released in 2018, could wipe out 95 per cent [of] European carp “over the next 30 years”.

He said the delay in release was due [to] the significant planning needed to deal with the sudden impact the virus may have on the river.

“Suddenly, there will be literally hundreds of thousands, if not millions of tonnes of carp that will be dead in the River Murray,” Mr Pyne said.

“We have to have a clean-up program. We need a community consultation program. We need to have legislative changes potentially.”

The Federal Government will reportedly allocate $15 million in Tuesday’s budget to the National Carp Control Plan.

Scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have spent years testing the virus in “the world’s most sophisticated high containment facility”, to determine whether it can effectively reduce carp numbers without harming other species.

“No other species of fish, including goldfish, are known to be affected by the virus.”

CSIRO claims the virus acts quickly to kill the fish, with high mortality expected to occur within the first 24 hours of its release.