Hi All,
News on the transmission characteristics of Hep B through sweat might
have some implications for practicing our art

cheers,
dan


from http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/
0,20867,21316267-23289,00.html

Hepatitis B virus transmitted by sweat
Adam Cresswell, Health editor
March 03, 2007
SWEAT may transmit the virus that causes hepatitis B - prompting a
warning that people who play contact sports should ensure they are
vaccinated against the potentially dangerous liver disease.
Hepatitis B can lead to liver cirrhosis and cancer in chronic cases,
but until now doctors had thought the virus was mainly transmitted by
infected blood and during sex.
Researchers analysed blood and sweat from 70 Turkish Olympic
wrestlers - none of whom were obviously ill or had antibodies to the
virus - and found the virus circulating in an "occult" or latent form
in the blood of nine of them. All but one also had virus particles in
their sweat, at almost the same concentrations as in their blood.
The researchers, whose results have just been published in the
British Journal of Sports Medicine, said hepatitis B was more
transmissible than HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, because it was
more concentrated in the blood and less easily destroyed than HIV
once outside the body.
On the back of the results, the authors said vaccination against
hepatitis B should be mandatory in all contact sports. Children have
been routinely vaccinated since 2000.

--
daniel james
griffith university aikido club
nathan qld 4111, australia
http://griffithaikido.com
+61 (0)7 3735 5036 (w), +61 (0)7 3735 5384(f) , +61 (0)401 683 592 (m)

"..we're continually bombarded with promises of immediate
gratification, instant success, and fast, temporary relief, all of
which lead in exactly the wrong direction", G.Leonard









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