News in brief - June 27, 2011

Salmonella infections on the rise - Lung cancer mortality down for women

Salmonella infections on the rise

In 2010, there were 8,256 reported salmonella infections, which is up 10% from the period of 2006-08, according to a report in the June 10 issue of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21659984/).

The CDC estimates that as many as 1.2 million people a year could be infected with the pathogen, because many mild cases are not diagnosed or reported.

Salmonella infections led to 2,290 hospitalizations and 29 deaths in 2010. Children younger than 5 were most likely to contract salmonella.

People 60 and older have the greatest risk for hospitalization and death from many food-borne illnesses, according to the CDC. The organization said prompt diagnosis and treatment of the condition is particularly important for this age group.

Lung cancer mortality down for women

For the first time since the 1930s, lung cancer death rates are decreasing among women, according to a report published online June 17 in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The study found that female lung cancer death rates have been decreasing by 0.9% per year since 2003 after continuously increasing since at least 1930. The mortality rate for this cancer among men has been dropping since 1991.

Despite the declines, the report found that not all sectors of the U.S. population are experiencing similar improvements. Cancer death rates for individuals with the least amount of education are more than twice as high as rates for people with the most education.

For men age 25 to 64 with a high school education or less, the cancer death rate was 147.85 per 100,000 people. The rate was 55.92 per 100,000 people among men who completed at least four years of college.

For women in the same age group with a high school degree or less, the cancer death rate was 119.38 per 100,000 people. It was 59.13 per 100,000 people for women who finished at least four years of college (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21685461).