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Health
& Medicine
Links to Health & Medicine On-Line
. Links
to Health & Medicine On-Line
The amount of info on the web is enormous, as anyone who's ever tried to run a
search can attest to. And, to put it all in context, best estimates say
that only a fraction, maybe 20 - 40 % of what's out there is actually making its
way to the search engines.
Well ...
Here at DownStreet, we'd like to try to help. So each issue, we
post a few links in Health & Medicine to sites that might interest
you. Sometimes the links will be related to one another ...
sometimes we'll just offer up a somewhat random sampling. In either case,
we think we might be able to help you find the kind of site you've been looking
for.
Of course, while we can't vouch for the fact that
every link we provide will be of interest to everyone, we do our best to filter
out the noise and the bustle. ... Anthrax
Information
From the Centers for Disease
Control and Elsewhere
To accompany this month's
Health Focus On "Anthrax, Separating Fact from Fiction," we are providing links to the following sites in
this month's Links to Health & Medicine On-Line:
 CDC:
Disease - Anthrax
The Centers for Disease
Control's Anthrax site is extremely informative;
however, considerable portions of it are geared to the
medical and other health professional
communities. Nonetheless, if you're concerned
about anthrax and want the latest and best information
available, this is probably the site of choice
on-line.
.
This
page is broken down into three main categories:
Agent Information, which includes an FAQ, Fact Sheets,
Medical Information, a *.pdf document on Clinical
Anthrax, and CDC Advisories, as well as links to other
anthrax resources, info on Civilian biodefense, and
more. The second section contains two links to
the Clinical Level-A Lab Protocol -- one in Word and
the other in Acrobat *.pdf. This protocol is the
one the CDC requires for confirming cases of
anthrax. The last section is an extensive
listing of News & Media links, beginning with a
CDC Update on the Florida Anthrax Case, dated October
4, 2001.
.
In
addition to the link above, the CDC also has info on
anthrax at two other pages: the Public Health Preparedness and Response
Home Page, and the MMWR
[Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Review] Current Volume
which features "Information About Anthrax and
Bioterrorism." None of it is light
reading. But it can fill in an awful lot of the
gaps between fact and fiction.
Rating: ****1/2 [4-1/2 Stars]
.- Information about Anthrax --
The New England Journal of Medicine
This
NEJM is maintaining a site which is updated frequently.
Like the CDC site, it is geared toward physicians and
other medical professionals. But here, too,
there is valuable information to be found.
.
Currently,
in addition to links to the CDC information, the NEJM
site provides links to a half dozen articles.
One -- "Medical Progress: Anthrax" -- was
published in 1999. Another -- " Anthrax:
The Investigation of a Deadly Outbreak" -- was
published in May of 2000. But the remaining
four, including the one we cited in this month's Focus
on "Anthrax, Separating Fact from Fiction,"
were all published this month. There is also a
direct link to our other primary source for this
month's Focus -- the 141st Chapter of Harrison's
Principles of Internal Medicine (15th edition, New
York: McGraw-Hill)
.
In addition to these
resources, the NEJM anthrax page also provides a link
to Other Potential Biologic Threats, including
Smallpox, Plague, Tularemia, Botulism, and more.
Again, if you're not familiar with medical concepts
and terminology, this site may leave you wondering
what it was you just read. But with a little
patience and a good medical dictionary on-hand, much
of it is decipherable and ultimately worthwhile for
those concerned about the threat of anthrax.
Rating: **** [4 Stars]
. - Medscape
Newsbeat - Anthrax
Much more geared toward
the general public, Medscape is maintaining this info
page on anthrax. Note, however, that
registration, which is free, is required before you
can access the site, so if you're not already
registered, click
here first. ...
.
The
Medscape anthrax site is broken down into several
categories: US Cases, Diagnosis and Treatment,
US Government Response, International Cases and
Response, Science, Commentary, Related Articles, and
Related Links. Each contains numerous links with
titles and brief descriptions. Finally, each and
every page of Medscape is nicely cross-referenced to
other Medscape resources in a section called
Recommended Links. So, for example, on this
anthrax page, you'll also find links to an Index for
the Newsbeat Collection; to Related Articles -- in
this case, Cutaneous Anthrax Images; to a
Related Resource Center {Bioterrorism}; and to Related
Specialties {Critical Care and Infectious
Diseases}.
.
Much
of what you'll find at Medscape you can make your way
through as you would a newspaper. That's because
that is the source of much of what you'll find
here. But not the usual headlines.
Instead, Medscape draws heavily upon sources like the
international Reuters Health news service, a
specialized and quality operation. In addition,
it also links to the CDC, as well as other general
interest sources.
Rating: ****1/2 [4-1/2 Stars]
*******
******* If you know of any
links that you think are worthwhile, why not send them along to
...
links@downstreetmagazine.com
... If we agree, we'll be happy to
include them in an upcoming issue to pass the word along. ...
Thanks. *******
******* .
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