Health Highlights: Dec. 19, 2007

Mar. 23 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

NIH Project Examines Impact of Microbes on Human Health

A large research project to explore the role of bacteria, fungi and other microbes in human health and disease was announced Wednesday by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Over the next five years, the Human Microbiome Project will award a total of $115 million to researchers.

As part of the project, scientists will collect and analyze microbes present in five specific body regions known to be inhabited by microbial communities: the digestive tract, the mouth, the skin, the nose and the female urogenital tract.

Researchers will also sequence hundreds of microbial genomes.

"The human microbiome is largely unexplored. It is essential that we understand how microorganisms interact with the human body to affect health and disease. This project has the potential to transform the ways we understand human health and prevent, diagnose and treat a wide range of conditions," NIH Director Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni said in a prepared statement.

-----

Immigrant Children in NYC Have Higher Risk of Lead Poisoning

Related Stories

Man kills wife, 3 kids in mass shooting: Police

• Apr 23, 12:35 PM

Secret Service prepares for Trump in contempt

• Apr 23, 4:16 PM

OJ Simpson dies at 76

• Apr 11, 6:32 PM

In New York City, immigrant children are five times more likely than U.S.-born children to acquire lead poisoning, says a city health department study published online in the American Journal of Public Health.

The study of children tested for lead poisoning in 2002 found that the risk was highest among recent immigrants. Children who had arrived in the United States within the previous six months were 11 times more likely to have lead poisoning than U.S.-born children.

The highest-risk children were from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico and Pakistan.

Lead-based paint is the primary cause of lead poisoning in both U.S.- (80 percent) and foreign-born children (65 percent) in New York City. But immigrant children may have been exposed to other sources of lead in their homes countries, including pollution, foods, herbal medicines, dishes, toys, jewelry, and cosmetics, researchers said.