The researchers linked many powerful computer systems together to analyze enormous amounts of genetic data collected from all publicly available isolated strains of the H5N1 virus – the cause of avian flu. They then developed a new Web-based application that will allow health officials and the public visualize how the virus moved across the globe using Google Earth.

The green lines on this interactive map represent how pandemic influenza (H1N1) has moved from points in the United States to geographic locations across the globe. Screenshot taken using Google Earth.

The resulting visualizations, based on results of the data analysis, represent the most comprehensive map to date of how avian flu has been transmitted among sites in Asia, Africa and Europe.

But underlying those findings is a new way of analyzing genetic data that generates more complete information about the flu’s spread. The method, combined with the increasing availability of sequenced genomes of isolated flu strains, is expected to help public health officials make more knowledgeable predictions about how the H1N1 flu pandemic will evolve.

“We are taking into account more data but at the same time, we’re making simpler visualizations, allowing users to choose what they want to see,” said Daniel Janies, associate professor of biomedical informatics at Ohio State and senior author of the study.

“We’ve created an environment where people can avail themselves of flu information specific to their region of the world or their area of interest. We waded through all of the complexities so people in the public health realm who want to determine how a flu virus got from point A to point B can find that out, and we’ll have better public health outcomes as a result.”

The visualizations and application are available online at http://routemap.osu.edu.

The research appears online in the journal Cladistics.

The research environment has changed dramatically since 1997, when an avian flu outbreak in Hong Kong alerted health officials to its dangers to humans, Janies noted. The technology behind the Human Genome Project has improved to enable the rapid sequencing of numerous genomes, and avian flu’s broad transmission has encouraged scientists to place viral sequence data into the public domain. At the same time, computational power has continued to expand.

Janies and colleagues obtained high-quality avian flu sequences contained in the repositories at the National Institutes of Health’s GenBank and the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID). They then focused on studying two genes within the virus whose mutations are believed to have the most impact on H5N1 behavior: hemagglutinin, which produces the protein that recognizes the host cell receptor, and neuraminidase, an enzyme that helps the virus escape one cell so it can enter other cells.

The researchers used 1,646 sequences of hemagglutinin and 1,335 of neuraminidase in this study.

Biologists construct what are called phylogenetic trees to trace evolutionary relationships among species or strains believed to share a common ancestor. These trees’ branching diagrams can be designed to track similarities in physical characteristics, for example, in the study of dinosaurs, for which genetic data cannot be easily recovered. Or, in the study of influenza, the trees can show how viral strains are related based on shared mutations.

In the past, scientists – including Janies – have selected a single phylogenetic tree to represent related viruses that share mutations. But in this paper, the researchers used the power of supercomputers to generate millions of trees representing relationships among these thousands of viruses. They then picked a pool of thousands of high-quality trees based on a scoring system in the bioinformatics field to use in their analysis of disease transmission.

The scientists then asked of these trees – what are the geographic connections between the isolated viral strains?

These resulting diagrams were then used as the basis for an interactive map that traces the genetic, geographic and evolutionary history of avian influenza over 12 years. The highly pathogenic lineage of avian flu that crossed Asia and Africa can be traced to an isolate taken from a goose in 1996. Little genetic data is available for H5N1 viruses isolated before that.

To avoid creating a complex map that looks like “spaghetti thrown on the screen,” Janies and colleagues also simplified the map’s design. Green lines represent transmission pathways most strongly supported by the research findings. Yellow lines indicate less certainty. Lines also are colored differently depending on whether they indicate an incoming or outgoing virus from a specific location. And users can search for specific transmission routes rather than seeing all transmission events on the map at once.

The maps represent scientists’ best approximation of avian flu transmission based on the information available, Janies explained. Without access to every complete genome of every flu virus that ever infected a bird or human, researchers can never fully track evolutionary relationships, genetic histories and specific locations of each outgoing and incoming viral transmission.

Daniel Janies

“Collect and share as much data as possible and let the data tell the story,” he said. “We’re honest about the uncertainty our results may have – but even with partial data, we can infer much about a virus in an area based on its sources.”

The method has already been applied to studies of the H1N1 flu currently infecting millions of people in the United States. International cooperation spearheaded by the NIH, GISAID and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has resulted in ready availability of H1N1 sequences for study.

“With what we have so far, we can see the spread of H1N1 out of the United States and all over the world. There is a different dynamic, in that this is a virus carried by humans, who are cosmopolitan and moving both ways,” Janies said. “It’s also a virus that has been transmitted all over the world in a matter of months, and it’s still similar to its ancestors.”

H5N1, on the other hand, has been creeping across Asia and into Europe and Africa for more than a decade and picked up mutations along the way, he noted. While H1N1 has spread more quickly, it is far less deadly to humans than H5N1 – meaning it is still useful for the world to keep an eye on avian flu, Janies said.

His group’s visualizations will help make that possible.

The computing power used in this study was supplied by the Ohio Supercomputer Center and the Ohio State University Medical Center. The research is funded by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and Office, Ohio State’s Department of Biomedical Informatics and the Mathematical Biosciences Institute (MBI) at Ohio State.

Janies conducted the work with Rasmus Hovmöller, Boyan Alexandrov and Jori Hardman of Ohio State’s Department of Biomedical Informatics. Hovmöller is also an investigator in the MBI.

Written by Emily Caldwell – Ohio State University

An illustration of two proteins involved in DNA repair by artist Amy VanDonsel

Using yeast cells, the scientists studied protein molecules that have an important role in homologous recombination, which is one way that cells repair breaks in the DNA double helix. The process in yeast is similar to that in humans and other organisms.

Earlier research had established that a protein molecule named Srs2 regulates homologous recombination by counteracting the work of another protein, Rad51. Reporting in the July 10 issue of the journal Molecular Cell, the research team reveals the mechanism of how Srs2 removes Rad51 from DNA and thereby prevents it from making repairs to broken strands.

“Our findings may make it possible to uncover ways to augment the effect of DNA-damaging agents that are used for cancer chemotherapy,” says senior author Tom Ellenberger, D.V.M, Ph.D., the Raymond H. Wittcoff Professor and head of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. “Many chemotherapeutic agents work by causing DNA damage in cancer cells, leading to their death, and tumors can become resistant to chemotherapy by using DNA repair mechanisms to keep the cells alive. Drugs that inhibit the DNA repair process could help increase the efficiency of chemotherapeutic agents.”

Ellenberger is also co-director of the Pharmacology Core at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University. The facility aids in the development of anti-cancer agents.

Srs2 is a helicase molecule — a motor protein that’s able to walk or slide along a strand of DNA and remove other proteins from DNA or separate the two strands of the twisted double helix. For studies of Srs2, Ellenberger’s laboratory collaborated with Timothy Lohman, Ph.D., the Marvin A. Brennecke Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, a prominent expert in the biochemistry of motor proteins like Srs2.

Rad51’s job in the cell is to promote the exchange of sequences between two related DNA molecules, which can be used to repair breaks in DNA where both strands of the double helix are compromised. As a DNA matchmaker, Rad51 forms long filaments on DNA. Srs2 can remove these to prevent unwanted exchanges of DNA sequences. Without Srs2, cells lose their ability to maintain the normal structure of chromosomes, and DNA sequences become shuffled.

The biochemists found that Srs2 possesses a small arm that interacts with Rad51 and triggers a chemical reaction within the Rad51 protein causing it to fall off the DNA.

“Scientists had assumed that as Srs2 moved along the DNA strand, it just pushed off everything in its path,” says lead author Edwin Antony, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research associate in biochemistry and molecular biophysics. “This isn’t the case — we showed that Srs2 has a specialized structure that allows it to interact specifically with Rad51.”

This finding shows how a motor protein like Srs2 can perform the specialized task of remodeling a protein-DNA complex without interference by other similar helicases, he adds.

Because they now know more precisely the nature of this interaction between Srs2 and Rad51, the researchers can narrow their search for drugs that will block DNA repair by Rad51. This type of drug could make a lower dose of a DNA-damaging drug effective in treating cancer.

The research team is now trying to identify the Srs2 homologue in human cells and will study its structure in combination with Rad51. That will allow a more rational approach to understanding how cells cope with DNA damage and how some tumors evade cancer therapeutics, they say.

“In the long-term, my laboratory will look for drug-like molecules that influence this interaction,” Ellenberger says. “We are using the Chemical Genetics Screening Center here at the University (http://htc.wustl.edu). It has vast libraries of molecules that may have the activity we want. Edwin’s work on Srs2 and Rad51 will allow us to develop an assay to screen for agents that augment or supersede Srs2’s interference with DNA repair.”

Antony E, Tomko EJ, Xiao Q, Krejci L, Lohman TM, Ellenberger T. Srs2 disassembles Rad51 filaments by a protein-protein interaction triggering ATP turnover and dissociation of Rad51 from DNA. Molecular Cell. 2009;35(1):105-115.

Funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Young Scientist Program at Washington University supported this research.

Washington University School of Medicine’s 2,100 employed and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked third in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.

Siteman Cancer Center is the only federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Center within a 240-mile radius of St. Louis. Siteman Cancer Center is composed of the combined cancer research and treatment programs of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine. Siteman has satellite locations in West County and St. Peters, in addition to its full-service facility at Washington University Medical Center on South Kingshighway.

By Gwen Ericson – Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine

+CLICK. (The University of Texas School of Public Health)

+CLICK was developed by Christine Markham, Ph.D., and Ross Shegog, Ph.D., assistant professors of behavioral sciences. The game’s usability and credibility were assessed by HIV-positive (HIV+) youth at a Texas Children’s Hospital clinic. Results from the study were published in the May issue of AIDS Care.

According to the World Health Organization, adolescents and young adults ages 13-24 account for 40 percent of new HIV infections worldwide and almost half of all HIV infections in the United States. Many HIV+ youth engage in risky sexual behaviors, according to Markham.

“We wanted to create +CLICK so that we could help educate youth on the importance of making proper, healthy decisions to protect their relationships and themselves as well as help to reduce transmission of the HIV virus,” said Markham, lead investigator of the study.

The game was developed as an adjunct to the youths’ traditional clinic-based self-management education.

The small sample size of 32 study participants included 62.5 percent females and 37.5 percent males. Of those participants, 56.2 percent contracted the virus through birth and 43.8 percent became infected through sexual contact.

Markham and Shegog worked with Mary Paul, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, and Amy Leonard, M.P.H., research coordinator at Baylor College of Medicine, to develop the material presented in the interactive lessons.

Replicating a shopping mall, study participants travel through lessons on abstinence, condoms and contraception, and also watch video clips from experts and peers who are also HIV+. +CLICK is designed to target four behaviors: choosing not to have sex; disclosing HIV status to a potential partner; using condoms correctly and consistently; and using an effective method of birth control along with condoms.

Participants were able to play several of the game’s lessons in approximately 15 minutes during their regularly scheduled clinic visits. “Participants were very receptive and enthusiastic about playing the game,” said Leonard. “They also liked that they were able to ask the clinicians questions about what they learned on the lessons.” Credibility of the game was trusted by 93.8 percent of the participants and 84.4 percent of users found the game to be very easy to use and would tell others about +CLICK, according to the study.

A prototype of the game was used for the study. The game, which is in the last stages of development, is tentatively scheduled to be available to the public in approximately six months. In addition, the research team is working to create a similar web-based game that will focus on medication adherence for HIV+ youth.

This study was funded by the Baylor College of Medicine-University of Texas at Houston Center for AIDS Research.

The University of Texas
Health Science Center
At Houston

New way to gene therapy: first implant a capsule with a particular gene under the skin, apply skin cream in order to stimulate the gene into action, which expresses an active principle which is able to escape from the capsule. (Image: P. Rüegg/ ETH Zürich)

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. This English proverb now has a new meaning. Marc Gitzinger from the research group of Martin Fussenegger, Professor of Biotechnology and Bioengineering Science in the Department of Biosystems (D-BSSE) in Basle, has developed a prototype for gene therapy through the skin. An important part in this is played by phloretin, an antioxidant found in apples which makes cell walls more permeable and is used in cosmetics as an anti-wrinkle agent. The researchers have presented their new therapeutic approach online in the current edition of PNAS.

Capsules and cream

The method of administration sounds very simple: first implant a capsule with a particular gene under the skin and then apply skin cream in order to stimulate the gene into action, which finally expresses an active principle which is able to escape from the capsule in a precise dose.

Fussenegger’s group has managed to do something which sounds like science fiction. The researchers have produced alginate capsules with living cells containing a specially designed genetic network. This network produces the protein SEAP. The capsules were implanted under the skin of test mice which were then coated with an ointment. This skin cream consists of commercial milk fat mixed with phloretin according to a particular formula.

And it worked. Phloretin penetrated the skin, the gel capsules and the cells contained within. As hoped for by the researchers, the antioxidant from the apples reduced the production of protein. With a large dose of phloretin in the cream, the production of SEAP could be stopped altogether.

“When developing the principle we had no particular clinical picture in mind”, emphasised the ETH professor. “We were concentrating on the route of administration through the skin”. A genetic network such as this can also be designed in such a way that when activated correctly, insulin or growth factors are produced. The researcher can imagine that certain metabolic diseases might be treatable by this method. The D-BSSE scientists have already had the method patented and hope that the pharmaceutical industry will be interested in further developing this principle.

Liver spared

This form of gene therapy has several advantages, stressed the ETH professor. It puts no strain on the liver because it has a very local action and phloretin is a molecule which can be found in everyday foodstuffs and undergoes rapid degradation in the body. Furthermore, the network can be precisely controlled and the therapy is well tolerated by the liver, adds Fussenegger. The disadvantage of orally administered therapeutic agents is that the liver, as the detoxifying organ, destroys most of the active agent before it reaches the target site.

Fussenegger is also convinced that implants are well accepted by the public. Implants can be stored in the body for a relatively long time and are easily removed after the end of therapy or in the event of complications.

This new genetic network is a typical example of progress in synthetic biology. Researchers use known and well-characterised biological components to construct artificial networks which in turn are able to produce gene products such as specific proteins. Researchers can also use certain components to make biological switches which in turn allow such systems to be switched on or off.

Reference:

Gitzinger M, Kemmer C, El-Baba MD, Weber W, Fussenegger M. Controlling Transgene Expression in Subcutaneous Implants Using a Skin Lotion Containing the Apple Metabolite Phloretin. PNAS, online publication 22 June 200. doi:10.1073/pnas.0901501106

By Peter Rüegg – ETH Zürich

(Université de Montréal)

The study was led by Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sékaly, of the Université de Montréal. Dr. Jean-Pierre Routy of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) and scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the University of Minnesota in the United States also collaborated on the investigation. To date, anti-AIDS treatments have been stymied by “HIV reservoirs” – immune system cells where the virus hides and where existing HAART treatments cannot reach. The researchers successfully identified the cells where HIV hides and the “stealth” mechanisms that allow the virus to escape existing treatments. This breakthrough opens the way towards innovative therapies that are completely different from current approaches.

“Our results argue in favour of a strategy similar to the one used against leukemia, which is targeted chemotherapy, associated with a targeted immune treatment. This would make it possible to destroy the cells containing a virus, while giving the immune system time to regenerate with healthy cells,” says Dr. Rafick-Pierre Sékaly, a professor at the Université de Montréal, researcher at the Centre Hospitalier de Université de Montréal (CHUM), director of INSERM 743 and scientific director of the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida.

“For the first time, this study proves that the HIV reservoirs are not due to a lack of potency of the antiretroviral drugs, but to the virus hiding inside two different types of long life CD4 memory immune cells,” explains Dr. Jean-Pierre Routy, a hematologist with the MUHC, researcher in infection and immunity at the RI-MUHC and professor of hematology at McGill University. “There are several types of HIV reservoirs, each necessitating a different treatment to eliminate them.”

Nicolas Chomont and Rafick-Pierre Sékaly of the Université de Montréal with McGill University’s Jean-Pierre Routy. (Université de Montréal)

Indeed, once the virus is hidden in these reservoir cells, it becomes dependent on them: if the cell lives, the virus lives, but if the cell dies, so does the virus. As such, destroying these immune cells will allow for the elimination of the resilient or hidden parts of the virus. Existing HAART treatments destroy the viruses circulating in the body, yet cannot reach those hidden in reservoir cells.

“We now have brand-new options to fight HIV,” concludes Nicolas Chomont, a postdoctoral intern at the Université de Montréal’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology and one of the co-authors of this study. “The combination of fundamental and clinical approaches led to amazing results that allow us to elucidate another mystery of this virus of a thousand faces.”

These new therapeutic options will require many more years of research before they are validated and become a reality for patients. However, this study represents an invaluable work plan that will provide a map for many laboratories around the world.

Partners in research
This study was funded by the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), the National Institutes of Health, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the FRSQ-AIDS and Infectious Diseases Network.

About the study
The study, “HIV reservoir size and persistence are driven by T cell survival and homeostatic proliferation,” published in Nature Medicine, was coauthored by Rafick-Pierre Sékaly, Elias K. Haddad, Nicolas Chomont, Mohamed El Far, Petronela Ancuta, Lydie Trautmann, Francesco A. Procopio, Bader Yassine-Diab and Geneviève Boucher of the Université de Montréal and Centre Hospitalier de Université de Montréal (CHUM), Jean-Pierre Routy, Mohamed-Rachid Boulassel and Georges Ghattas of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University, Brenna J. Hill, Daniel C. Douek and Jason M. Brenchley of the National Institutes of Health, U.S.A., and Timothy W. Schacker of the University of Minnesota, U.S.A.

On the web
About the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Medicine
About the Research Centre of the Centre Hospitalier de Université de Montréal
About the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre
About McGill University
About INSERM
About Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Florida

Université de Montréal

Source: Kansas State University

Gary West, assistant professor of zoological medicine in K-State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, said exotic animals can make fun and interesting pets, but there are many health factors to consider before owning one.

West said common exotic pets are ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs, reptiles and birds. He recommended several of these animals as good pets, including cockatiels, guinea pigs, rabbits, bearded dragons, corn snakes, blue-tongued skinks, some species of tarantulas, freshwater tropical fish and some tortoises.

Owning an exotic pet is different from owning pets like dogs and cats. Some exotic pets have specialized needs, such as lizards that require an ultraviolet light for basking, live insects for food or other whole prey items, West said.

“Many of our diets and health care are very advanced for dogs, which have been domesticated for a long time,” he said. “Many exotic pets are non-domestic, and although many advances have been made, there are still things we are learning about them.”

West said there are fad exotic animals every few years that can be challenging to own, such as a kinkajou. West said this South American animal is related to the raccoon and typically does not make a good pet because of special environmental requirements and that it can bite.

He said all exotic animals have specific needs and requirements, and it is important that the pet owner become educated about the animal before purchasing it. He said the best way to keep an exotic pet healthy is to know what it requires to stay healthy and thrive.

Exotic animals can carry diseases, West said. Reptiles are commonly known to be at risk of carrying salmonella, and there have been reports of other diseases, including chlamydia, in pet birds. Rabies also is a concern for mammals if they go outdoors.

However, unlike dogs and cats, exotic pets like reptiles can carry diseases like salmonella without getting sick — but that puts other animals and humans at risk.

West said after handling an exotic pet, people should wash their hands immediately. He also said reptiles should not be allowed to roam free, they should not be allowed in the kitchen or around people who are eating, and owners should disinfect surfaces where reptiles have been. Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that reptiles not be kept in homes with children younger than 5 years or with immunocompromised people, he said.

Source: Kansas State University

West said typically there are no signs or symptoms to tell if an exotic animal is a carrier of salmonella or other diseases, though the animal could infect other pets. To keep other pets from getting the diseases, West said the same principles for humans apply. Other animals should not come into direct contact with the exotic pet, for mutual benefit, and the animals should keep away from each other’s food and water bowls.

Some exotic animals do not like much handling, noise or strangers, and agitating the animal puts the owner at risk for bites and scratches. Bite wounds can become infected with bacteria from the pet’s mouth and should be examined by a doctor. Additionally, injuries are fairly common in small pets, so owners should be careful when the animal is around larger animals like dogs or around young children, West said.

“We see many cases where the family cat or dog injures or bites the exotic pet, which are often can be life-threatening wounds,” he said.

He said owners should not impulse-buy pets, especially exotic animals. People also should buy from a good source who is knowledgeable about husbandry and care, and the source should also be able to recommend good products and guarantee that the animal is healthy.

West also said to see if the source is selling species that make good pets. He said there are many animals that should not be pets, such as monkeys. Primates make bad pets for several reasons, he said, including because they can carry diseases that are transmissible to humans.

“Wildlife do not make good pets, and it is illegal and irresponsible to take a baby animal from the wild and raise it or make a pet out of it,” West said. “You are not helping it.”

West said owning a pet can be good for children as a way to learn patience and responsibility, and all pets can be great companions and even stress relievers.

“Watching your fish or learning more about these fascinating creatures can be great hobbies for children and adults,” he said. “Observing and learning about their behavior can be very interesting and help foster an interest and love for animals and wildlife.”

By Kristin Hodges – Kansas State University

The typical U.S. mobile subscriber sends and receives more text messages than telephone calls, according to recent trend reports published by the Nielsen Company. U.S. teens between the ages of 13 to 17 are the most intense users of texting, sending and receiving an average of 1,742 messages per month.

Teen texting. Source: University of Cincinnati

“The posture we assume while texting and e-mailing from mobile devices—using our thumbs to type, crunched over a tiny keyboard—is unnatural. That said, it only presents problems when we do it constantly without giving our body enough breaks,” says Kermit Davis, PhD, an associate professor of environmental health at the UC College of Medicine and an expert in ergonomics (the science of people-machine relationships).

Few muscles come into play during texting, but Davis says the repeated use can still lead to problems.

“Teenagers often engage in texting with multiple people simultaneously and for long periods of time, which forces their forearms and thumbs into a static contraction,” he explains. “When you combine this behavior with other hand-intensive activities—such as using a computer mouse or playing video games— the cumulative effects on the hands and forearms may cause problems.”

Davis recommends all regular users of mobile technology—regardless of age—take these basic steps to avoid muscle and forearm pain:

· Reduce your keystrokes. More keystrokes equals more strain on your hands—particularly the thumbs—so keep your messages brief and use word recognition tools when possible.

· Take regular breaks. Doing any repetitive task for long periods of time without a break is a bad idea. Make it a habit to stop and take a break regularly to let your body recover.

· Orient your hands into a neutral posture. The wrist should be relatively straight during any typing activity. Avoid twisting your wrists into odd angles, as this will cause additional stress to the hand and forearm muscles and lead to chronic inflammation and pain.

· Choose a mobile device that gives you room to stretch. Davis says mobile devices with wider keyboards give people more motion flexibility.

· Use alternate fingers. Most people use their thumbs to text or write e-mails from their mobile devices. Although it may seem awkward at first, Davis recommends alternating between fingers to give the thumbs a break.

The more serious mobile users may be thinking: Perhaps I should do finger push-ups to beef up my hand muscles for texting? Davis says, in this case, strengthening isn’t necessarily the solution; stretching and pausing are more effective ways to reduce strain.

“Every person needs to look at how they are interacting with their environment and adjust to avoid bodily harm,” he adds. “Ergonomics hits you all around. Any time you are using one part of your body for long durations, you’ll start to have problems.”

Davis and his team provide fee-for-service ergonomic assessments in a variety of workplaces, including health care facilities, administrative offices, manufacturing plants and other work environments. Their recommendations are aimed at creating better work environments with healthier and more productive workers.

University of Cincinnati

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Studies have shown wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle reduces one’s risk of death by more than 50 percent, yet every three days, a child in the United States is killed while riding a bicycle, and every day at least 100 children are treated in emergency rooms due to bicycle-related head injuries.

Source: University of Michigan Health System

A report released today by the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health reveals that in areas where no bicycle helmet laws exist, nearly one-half of children, ages 4 – 17, never wear a helmet.

“These statistics underscore the importance of helmet laws to help prevent death and injury from children not wearing helmets while riding their bikes,” says Matthew M. Davis, M.D., director of the National Poll on Children’s Health. “Yet only twenty one states have helmet use laws for children.”

Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicate universal bicycle helmet use by children, ages 4 – 15, would prevent about 40,000 head injuries and about 50,000 scalp and face injuries every year.

While the poll shows helmet use is better in areas where helmet laws exist (54 percent of parents report their children always wear a helmet while riding a bike), the poll also measured adults’ awareness of helmet laws in their communities and whether or not they would support new laws if none existed.

Forty-one percent of parents said they were unsure about helmet use laws in their communities. Overall, 86 percent of respondents would support helmet laws for children in their communities.

The poll also shows that other barriers to helmet use exist for some parents whether or not laws exist in their areas. Among parents who report their child never wears a helmet, 32 percent believe they are too expensive. One in two children in the lowest income families making less than $30,000 per year never wear a helmet.

As children age, self concept and image may play a role in their decisions about whether or not they will wear a helmet. Among children who never use helmets, 59 percent of parents report that their children do not like wearing helmets.

“Wearing a bicycle helmet is essentially a health behavior,” Davis says. “It is not yet a fashion statement. For many kids – especially older kids – there is a tension between this healthy behavior and being seen as cool or acceptable by their peers. There is a challenge here for health care providers and public health officials to communicate that wearing a helmet is actually the cool thing to do besides being the healthy thing to do.”

The poll also finds:

• . 78 percent of parents report children ages 4 – 17 ride bicycles.
• . 27 percent never wear their helmets while riding their bikes.
• . Among children ages 4 – 11, 53 percent always wear helmet while riding bikes, while only 29 percent of children ages 12 – 17 always wear helmets while riding bikes.
• . In states and communities that have bicycle laws, 54 percent of children 14-17 always wear a helmet, while only 24 percent of children always wear a helmet in places without a bicycle helmet law for children.

“To try to increase helmet use across the country, there are at least three ways we can proceed. One way is to pass more helmet laws,” Davis says. “There is also a group of parents out there who really want their children to wear helmets but can’t afford them. We should be better at sharing information about the very successful state and local programs that provide free or cheap helmets for kids. The third opportunity here is to change how families view helmets in terms of how important it is to use them regularly. That is going to be perhaps the toughest because it involves communicating the benefits of the health behavior and really trying to make a longstanding difference in the attitudes of parents and in the communities that may not yet be on board with the use of bicycle helmets.”

Resources:

C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health: www.med.umich.edu/mott/npch

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:

Bicycle Helmet Use Laws: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/TSFLaws/PDFs/810886.pdf
Cyclist safety facts: www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810986.pdf

American College of Emergency Physicians: www.acep.org/pressroom.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&id=25986&fid=3496&Mo=No

Clinical Pediatrics

Bicycle-Related Injuries Among Children and Adolescents in the United States: http://cpj.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/48/2/166

Methodology: For its report, the National Poll on Children’s Health used data from a national online survey conducted in January 2009 in collaboration with Knowledge Networks, Inc. The survey was administered to a random sample of 2,125 adults, ages 18 and older, who are a part of Knowledge Network’s online KnowledgePanel®. The sample was subsequently weighted to reflect U.S. population figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. About three-fourths of the sample included households with children. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 1 to 9 percentage points. For results based on subgroups, the margin of error is higher.

To learn more about Knowledge Networks, visit www.knowledgenetworks.com.

Purpose/Funding: The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health – funded by the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases and part of the CHEAR Unit at the U-M Health System – is designed to measure major health care issues and trends for U.S. children.

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Written by Jessica Soulliere – University of Michigan Health System