Is it too easy to get a prescription for medicinal cannabis?
There are concerns people are getting their hands on medicinal cannabis to treat conditions where there's very little evidence of benefit — and the possibility of harm.
Also, why weight loss drugs could improve treatment for people with schizophrenia. The full breadth of corporate ownership of radiology clinics is revealed.
And what questions need to be asked with IVF in the spotlight, as Monash IVF deals with the fallout from a second bungled embryo transfer.
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SBS Australia
6 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Australia's 'forever chemical' blind spots — and what could reduce your levels
Earlier this year, it was revealed that 3M knew firefighting foams containing PFAS substances were toxic. It has produced fire fighting foams since the 1960s and started phasing out the substances in the early 2000s. Source: AAP / Craig Abraham, Fairfax pool Many Australians have some level of PFAS — often dubbed forever chemicals — in their body, but understanding their impacts and strategies for reducing them is lacking. This week, scientists and experts continued to give evidence to a federal inquiry investigating the regulation and management of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Their remarks highlighted a series of knowledge gaps that make it difficult to ascertain the health impacts of these chemicals, which are present in our environment and bodies. It also served as a reminder about one of the only known ways to reduce our levels. PFAS are synthetic compounds found in a variety of industrial and consumer products, including makeup, non-stick cooking surfaces and food packaging, due to their heat, stain, grease and water-resistant properties. They often don't degrade in the environment and build up in our bodies, earning them the title "forever chemicals". Professor Peter Sly, deputy director of the Queensland Children's Medical Research Institute, said control groups with no level of PFAS simply "don't exist anymore". "I'm afraid every person in Australia has PFAS levels in their body. It's a matter of how high they are," he told the PFAS committee hearing on Tuesday. Last month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data that tested for 11 different PFAS levels in the general population. It detected three types of PFAS in the blood of over 85 per cent of the population. While research groups currently test for over 40 different types of PFAS, the ABS estimates there are more than 15,000 identified compounds belonging to the PFAS class of chemicals. In 2022, a world-first Australian study investigated whether blood and plasma donations could remediate elevated PFAS levels in 285 firefighters. Historically, firefighters have been exposed to higher levels of PFAS through the frequent use of firefighting foams, although alternatives have since been developed that do not include these chemicals. Following 12 months of testing staff, the study found that those who donated blood every 12 weeks had a 10 per cent reduction in PFAS chemicals. The group that donated plasma every six weeks had their PFAS levels reduced by 30 per cent, with no significant change for the control group who did neither. Miri Forbes, one of the study authors and an associate professor at Sydney's Macquarie University, said understanding the impact of the reduced levels on the human body requires further study. "We don't know yet. This is the first study that has found how we can reduce PFAS," she told SBS News. "It was really exciting to know that it's possible to be able to reduce the levels of PFAS we can measure in the blood, but we need to understand, what are the health implications of that?" Other observational studies have found women have reduced levels. PFAS leave the body during menstruation and the replenished blood supply doesn't have PFAS, lowering the overall levels. Martyn Kirk, a professor of epidemiology at the Australian National University, told SBS News that there is still plenty we don't know about PFAS. These blind spots include; The long-term health impacts of low exposure The health impacts on highly exposed individuals Where exposure comes from in the household environment Methods of reducing PFAS While there have been studies that have linked higher levels of PFAS with health impacts, such as higher levels of cholesterol, many don't yield consistent results, making conclusions difficult. Kirk said longitudinal studies, which can be reproduced and repeated, are needed to capture exposure levels across different areas and ages as well as demonstrate where levels decline over time. He believes highly exposed people, such as firefighters, present an opportunity to understand the link to different health outcomes. "You've got a much greater chance of being able to identify the potential relationship between exposure and disease, whereas in the community, the levels are often very low," he said. A barrier to obtaining datasets for scientific research is the cost of samples, which are complex to interpret and expensive as a result. Sly suggested a biomonitoring program by collecting leftover blood from hospitals and pooling samples. "By pooling samples, you protect individuals' identity, and secondly, you only have to measure one sample rather than ten or 100," he told the PFAS committee on Tuesday. "And you can get levels across the population," he said, adding that a similar method was currently used to test wastewater for drugs. Companies started phasing out PFAS in the late 1990s and early 2000s, leading to a drop in exposure and blood levels as a result, said Kirk. "We've seen declines in the levels of PFAS in people's blood since 2000," he said. "So we've had nearly a 10-fold decrease in the levels of PFAS in the blood of Australians, and that continues to decrease." He said that unless you're working in one of the industries that are highly exposed, you probably don't have levels that are of concern. However, he noted anxiety in specific communities like at Wreck Bay on the NSW south coast, where an Aboriginal community believe a "cancer cluster" is due to PFAS contamination caused by the Department of Defence. "I think we do need to understand better to assist those communities and also provide better information for the wider community and government to make good policy."
ABC News
7 hours ago
- ABC News
Agriculture Victoria declares end of H7N8 avian influenza outbreak
Poultry farmers are once again able to move birds across north-east Victoria without restriction after Agriculture Victoria declared an end to the latest avian influenza outbreak in the state. In February, detections of the H7N8 bird flu strain were found on four commercial properties near Euroa. The outbreak meant hundreds of thousands of birds had to be euthanised, while zones were set up that restricted the movement of birds, bird products and poultry equipment around the region. Victoria's acting chief veterinary officer Sally Salmon said work by Agriculture Victoria meant those restrictions could be lifted, and thanked the poultry industry and local bird owners for their help in eradicating the outbreak. "Early reporting from the first affected business meant we could act quickly, and their ongoing co-operation with all elements of the response has been a major factor in achieving eradication," Dr Salmon said. She said more than 100 people had been deployed to clean and disinfect each site, as Agriculture Victoria officers visited 350 properties, took 20,600 samples, and completed 21,500 tests for the virus. The Euroa incident was the second outbreak of avian influenza in a year, with the first outbreak occurring in May 2024, affecting several properties in south-west Victoria. Victorian Farmers Federation Egg Group president and Werribee egg farmer Brian Ahmed said the end of the outbreak was welcome, and praised the work of Agriculture Victoria staff and farmers to eradicate the disease. But Mr Ahmed said a push towards expanding free-range chicken farming needed to be re-considered because he believed it could lead to further outbreaks. "As a farmer, I trust that the Agriculture Department has done their job and they wouldn't have lifted those restrictions unless they were quite comfortable that everything's been eradicated," he said. But he said the next avian influenza outbreak wasn't a matter of "if" but "when". "Unfortunately, government policies pushing our industry into non-cage systems with free-range [chickens] increases the risk of bird flu outbreaks. "The free-range system was designed for small-scale farming and there's nothing wrong with that. "But we're commercialising a farming system that was not designed for that, and we're going to have disease outbreaks like this more regularly, it's very clear." The caged-egg farming system is set to be phased out by 2036 under Commonwealth guidelines, but details on how the phase-out will occur are yet to be released.
News.com.au
10 hours ago
- News.com.au
Dad dies in cruise horror, sick response for pleas to help
When Chloe Moloney launched a public appeal to help get her gravelly ill dad home, she didn't expect to cop a barrage of hate from online trolls. Random strangers telling her if her dad could afford to go on a cruise, he could afford the $14,000 it would take to fly home with a dedicated nurse after he suffered a brain bleed and underwent two high-risk surgeries. 'Stop your whining, it's their own fault for travelling without travel insurance' one commentator wrote. 'People with cancer have to pay for transfers so why wouldn't you' and 'why should taxpayers have to pay to get your dad home?'. Chloe was shocked by the response. 'Why are people so horrible? I've lost faith in all of humanity,' she said. But she put the negativity behind her and continued her plight to bring her dad home from Darwin to Western Australia. Her beloved dad Peter Jackson couldn't hang on any longer. Despite the best efforts of medical staff, he died on Friday. 'Unfortunately, we have had some bad news today. Dad had another bleed, and a cardiac arrest, and has been placed on life support,' Chloe said on Friday. 'There's nothing else they can do for him. Mum and I are flying up tomorrow to say our goodbyes and turn off his life support. 'I'll fight tooth and nail to get his story out there and how the system failed him.' What started out as a fun-filled holiday turned into tragedy for Peter and his wife Amanda. They set sail from Sydney to Fremantle on the Crown Princess and were having the time of their lives celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary until 63-year-old Mr Jackson fell backwards while re-embarking the vessel after ANZAC celebrations in Darwin. He suffered a bleed on the brain and was rushed to the ship hospital - but when the captain decided the ship had to set sail Mr Jackson was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital where he has since undergone two surgeries for brain bleeds. 'He was unconscious for two days and we were told he was in trouble, and to prepare ourselves,' Ms Moloney told at the time. 'We were told Dad was too unwell to be transported and he needed to be stable for an airlift. Once he was stable, an airlift was to be done. Dad came around and improved and was moved to a ward.' But for reasons unknown to the anxious family, the medical transport back to WA was cancelled. 'We couldn't understand why. Dad needs to be admitted to a neuro rehab facility once a bed becomes available back home,' Ms Moloney said. 'Dad's speech has been impacted quite severely, he is quite hard to understand now. He also has issues with his right arm, and his high-level balance. Flying home commercially is not an option for us, with his condition.' Ms Moloney was told that neither the WA or NT governments wanted to pay for dad to get home, even though he needed to be admitted to a neuro-rehab facility. 'The Royal Flying Doctor Service quoted $80,000 to fly Dad home. Mum and Dad have premium Ambulance cover which covers Air Ambulance but the health fund advised mum that St Johns Ambulance in Darwin do the patient transfers. 'When called, St Johns gave mum a flat no, with no reason why. 'Mum had another quote that will provide a nurse on a commercial flight to sit in business class with dad and that costs $15,000. 'Where is she supposed to get all this money from when she has already spent thousands on accommodation so far to stay with dad? 'It's been a nightmare. We just want to get him home safely and get the ongoing care he needs. 'My dad is the most beautiful man. When he was of sound mind he would go out of his way to help anyone. Well now he needs help and we just can't get it.'
