With just a few more days remaining in a very tough month of work for me, I am excited to get back to writing more. I thought a good way would be to re-cap the last few weeks of what I have been reading on the web:
HELMETS and OUTDOOR SPORTS INJURY PREVENTION:
Obviously, the recent high-profile case of head injury while skiing has generated a flurry of attention. There are numerous articles and information to support wearing a helmet as an important method of injury prevention during outdoor sports.
- “Speeds associated with skiing and snowboarding” by Robert Williams, et al. published in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine 2007, vol. 18
- “Medicine for the Outdoors” by Paul Auerbach has several good posts on the subject as well
- “Kids Travel Doc” by Karl Neumann looks at helmets and childrens’ injury prevention in a very well written article
- “World Nomads Travel Safety” features great information on skiing safely and helmets
DISEASE OUTBREAKS and UPDATES:
- Meningococcal disease in Nigeria continues to rise with over 5000 new cases reported since January 1st, 2009, and a fatality rate of just over 6%. The sero-type of Nisseria implicated is group A and is preventable with a vaccination.
- Malaria Atlas Project showcases their work on mapping locations of endemic Plasmodium Falciparum and a great article in PLoS (Public Library of Science) discusses the research
- A bit older now, but MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) from the CDC featured a very interesting article in the December 19, 2008 edition looking at Histoplasmosis in travelers from the US who participated in a church renovation in El Salvador
ASSORTED INFO:
- Guidelines for Field Triage of Injured Patients was published by the MMWR (CDC) in the January 23, 2009 edition and features a wealth of information building on their previously published work in 1999
- The Gorgas Courses in Clinical Tropical Medicine have been sending out their “Case of the Week” and I have been enjoying them immensely. Their tropical medicine program is one of the best in the world and anyone looking to further their clinical tropical medicine knowledge should look into this program. I hope to attend one day, as well.
TRAVEL SITES:
- I am very happy for the team at IndieTravelPodcast.com for their Lonely Planet nomination and am always finding new and cool stuff on their site
- TravelofftheRadar.com is another site that is very well done, featuring loads of info on adventure travel including some great pictures
- A new web and print magazine about adventure travel, sports and environmentalism over at WendMag.com is also a wonderful site