Faculty Bibliography

Mr. [John Ashcroft] was scheduled to testify on Wednesday before a House subcommittee on appropriations, but that appearance will be canceled, officials said. Other events on Mr. Ashcroft's schedule may also have to be postponed. Mr. Ashcroft arrived at the emergency room early Thursday evening, Mr. [Mark Corallo] said, and after a full medical examination, doctors diagnosed the severe case of gallstone pancreatitis. The overwhelming majority of pancreatitis cases are caused by gallstones and alcoholism. Other causes include reactions to prescription or illicit drugs, injuries, infections and complication of surgery. It can be difficult to determine if infection was the cause or a result of pancreatitis. Antibiotics, which Mr. Ashcroft is receiving, are commonly prescribed

In 1999 and 2000, doctors in this country wrote an average of 11 million antibiotic prescriptions for ear infections in children 15 and younger, a spokeswoman for the disease control centers said. But one study showed about a 25 percent reduction, largely among office- based doctors, in prescribing standard antibiotics for children's ear infections. However, the study cautioned that increased prescribing of newer antibiotics might offset the reduction. The proposed guidelines, [Richard E. Besser] said, emphasize the need for stricter criteria in diagnosing infections and in relieving the pain that makes many children with ear infections cranky. The guidelines also advise that not prescribing antibiotics for children is acceptable therapy. Experience in Europe shows that 80 percent of children get better without the drugs, Besser said

The proposed guidelines, Dr. [Richard E. Besser] said, emphasize the need for doctors to use stricter criteria in diagnosing infections and to relieve the pain that makes many children with ear infections cranky. The guidelines also advise doctors that observing children without prescribing antibiotics is acceptable therapy. Experience in Europe shows that 80 percent of children get better without the drugs, Dr. Besser said

The four-dose regimen of [Prevnar] has been effective in preventing serious illness and death from meningitis, blood and ear infections and other conditions caused by the pneumococcus bacterium. The vaccine is recommended for children under 2 because they are at highest risk of such infections. It is not routinely recommended for those 2 and older

The four-dose regimen of [Prevnar] has been effective in preventing serious illness and death from meningitis, blood and ear infections and other conditions caused by the pneumococcus bacterium. The vaccine is recommended for children under 2 because they are at highest risk of such infections. It is not routinely recommended for those 2 and older. A full four-dose regimen of Prevnar is 97 percent effective in preventing the seven strains of the pneumococcal bacteria in the vaccine. A reduced regimen should also provide some protection, health officials said

On Monday, [Keiji Fukuda] and many other influenza experts restated their concern about the potential for a new strain of bird flu that has emerged in Asia to trade genes with a human strain, creating a new virus that would be highly lethal to people

Opposition from religious and political leaders in the north of Nigeria has forced the suspension of an immunization program being conducted in Nigeria and other countries in Africa where polio is endemic or has been spread in recent months. [David Heymann] said that the vaccine being used in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa was the same one that reduced the incidence of paralytic polio to fewer than 758 cases in 2003. Nigeria accounted for 347 of those cases. Nigeria sent the vaccine to South Africa for testing. Although the tests found no elements of hormones or infectious agents other than the Sabin polio virus used in the oral vaccine, Heymann said, they did not satisfy the critics. So a second set of tests is being performed in India

''The influenza season has wound down very dramatically, declining to levels lower than we often expect at this time of year,'' said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, a top influenza expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Monday, Dr. Fukuda and many other influenza experts restated their concern about the potential for a new strain of avian influenza that has emerged in Asia to trade genes with a human strain, creating a new virus that would be highly lethal to people. Working with Paul J. Edelson and Stephen S. Morse of the Columbia School of Public Health and Lone Simonsen of the National Institutes of Health, Mr. [Donald R. Olson] identified ''a herald wave'' of the epidemic that began earlier in 1918. The age pattern of deaths in New York City changed markedly from February to March 1918: a pattern that had taken the lives of people predominantly 65 or older became one that involved those predominantly under 45