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THOSE who wear glasses are more likely to get passes.

That’s the back-to-school message from Geelong optometrist Bruce McNeel, who is urging parents to have their children’s eyes checked as part of routine preparations for the start of the new school year on Wednesday.

For six-year-old AJ Williams, who will start prep at Bellaire Primary School, and his sister, Sydney, who will move into grade three at the same Highton school, glasses will not be needed.

But Mr McNeel said one in four Australian children had an eye condition or suffered some level of vision impairment.

Since sight is involved ...

The HPV vaccine contains virus-like particles (blue) that are noninfectious and stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies (red) that can prevent HPV infections.

In 2009, more than 30,000 people in the U.S. learned they had cancer linked to the human papillomavirus, or HPV. This virus is best known for causing cervical cancer, but it’s also the culprit behind many cancers of the mouth, throat, anus, and genitals. Unlike many forms of cancer, for which we lack the knowledge and tools to prevent, scientists have figured out how to dodge HPV-triggered cancers—by HPV vaccination...

 More and more babies and toddlers aren’t getting their recommended vaccines on time, a new study suggests.

Of more than 300,000 U.S. kids born between 2004 and 2008, almost half were «undervaccinated» at some point before their second birthday — in some cases because parents chose to forgo shots recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Researchers said that trend is cause for concern because if enough kids skip their vaccines, whole schools or communities may be at higher risk for preventable infections such as whooping cough and measles.

«When that happens, it can crea...

Introducing laws banning smoking in enclosed public places can lead to swift and dramatic falls in the number of children admitted to hospital suffering from asthma attacks, according to a British study.

Researchers at Imperial College London found there was a 12.3-per-cent fall in hospital admissions for childhood asthma in the first year after laws against smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces came into effect in July, 2007.

Similar anti-smoking legislation has been introduced in many other countries where it has also been linked to a reduction in childhood asthma emergencies.

“Th...

About half of infants and young children in the United States receive vaccinations late or not at all, a new study suggests.

Between 2004 and 2008, about 49 percent of children ages 2 months to 2 years were «undervaccinated,» meaning they received at least one vaccine or more a month later than is recommended by the current vaccine schedule. The percentage of undervaccinated children increased during the study period.

In about 13 percent of cases analyzed, parents intentionally delayed their child’s vaccination, the researchers said.

Some parents say they intentionally delay vaccinations, bec...

The standard vaccine schedule for young children in the United States is safe and effective, a new review says.

The report, issued Wednesday by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) at the request of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the first to look at the entire vaccine schedule as opposed to just individual vaccines. The current vaccine schedule entails 24 vaccines given before the age of 2, averaging one to five shots during a single doctor visit.

«The committee found no evidence that the childhood immunization schedule is not safe,» said Ada Sue Hinshaw, chair of the committ...

Physician-scientists at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children’s Hospital are challenging the way pediatric neurologists think about brain injury in the pre-term infant. In a study published online in the Jan. 16 issue of Science Translational Medicine, the OHSU Doernbecher researchers report for the first time that low blood and oxygen flow to the developing brain does not, as previously thought, cause an irreversible loss of brain cells, but rather disrupts the cells’ ability to fully mature...

Flu vaccination rates among U.S. children were lower than expected over a recent five-year period, a new study reports.

The findings were released in the midst of the current flu season, with 47 states now reporting widespread illness, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health officials recommend that all children 6 months and older get the flu vaccine.

For the new study, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center researchers reviewed data on more than 8,000 children younger than 5 in three counties in Ohio, New York and Tennessee between 2004 and 2009, and found that le...

“Fast food and takeaways linked to surge in child asthma and allergies,” reports The Guardian.

Along with many other papers, it reports on a study attempting to shed light on one of the enduring medical mysteries of recent times – what explains the sharp rise in allergic conditions that has occurred during the past few decades?

Researchers wanted to investigate the theory that changes to traditional diets in the developed world since World War Two may be partially responsible.

This was an international survey looking at the links between diet and three allergy-related conditions in adole...

Although still rare, the extremely serious disease known as Eastern equine encephalitis may be affecting more people than before.

In a recent review of two epidemics of Eastern equine encephalitis since the mid-2000s, researchers found 15 cases of the mosquito-borne illness among children in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Normally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention records about five to 10 cases a year nationwide.

«This virus is rare, but it’s among the world’s most dangerous viruses, and it’s in your own backyard,» said lead review author Dr...