This site is intended for health professionals only


First foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, sales people on postnatal wards and why drinking six cups of coffee could be making you fat

The first vaccine that protects children against hand, foot and mouth disease has been created by scientists in China, the BBC reports.

The infection causes a rash and painful blisters, but in some cases can result in brain infections which can be fatal. An outbreak in China in 2009 killed 353 people.

A trial involving 10,000 children, published in the Lancet, showed the vaccine was 90% effective against one virus which causes the disease, although it does not protect against other viruses that cause it,

The NHS has also been criticised for allowing sales people access to mothers shortly after they have given birth, who often do not identify themselves as sales representatives, the Guardian reports.

New mothers have been approached by employers of promotion company Bounty, who are paid £90,000 by HM Revenue & Customs, to distribute application forms for child benefit forms, which are freely available online and elsewhere.

Bounty sells parents’ details on to third companies commercially, and also gives commercial companies access to new parents by handing out ‘baby bags’ containing products and fliers.

Bad news for coffee drinkers - especially if you are a mouse - over at the Telegraph. Researchers have found that too much coffee, including decaffeinated, can lead to weight gain and other problems.

The study, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, found that a compound chlorogenic acid found in coffee - known as CGA - affected the utilisation of fat in the liver and caused abnormal retention of fat within cells of mice.

The obese mice also had a tendency for higher degree of glucose intolerance and increased insulin resistance.

They were fed a dose which was the equivalent of six cups of coffee, leading researchers to warn against drinking more than three or four cups a day.