Flu shots for children

Flu shots for children

CHICAGO — More children have died from flu because they also had staph infections, according to a new government report that urges parents to have their kids get the flu shot.

The number of deaths wasn’t high — 73 during the 2006-07 flu season — but there was more than a fivefold increase in hard-to-treat complications. And preliminary figures indicate deaths rose again during this past winter’s flu season.

Public health officials say the numbers underscore the importance of a brand new recommendation that all children, from 6 months through 18 years, get routine flu shots. Before this year, shots were recommended for kids under 5 years.

More than half the children who died were between ages 5 and 17 and had been healthy until they got the flu.

German bailout package

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Germany became the latest country to move to allay fears about the financial meltdown, enhancing a rescue plan for Hypo Real Estate AG and guaranteeing private bank accounts as European governments scrambled on their own Sunday to save failing banks.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said that no citizen should fear for the safety of their investments. Hours later, her government announced a new bailout package totaling 50 billion euros ($69 billion) for Hypo Real Estate, Germany’s second-biggest commercial property lender.

Mars project in trouble

WASHINGTON — America’s next daring adventure on Mars — a 1-ton rolling science laboratory scheduled to launch next October — is in deep trouble.

Huge cost overruns and technical difficulties may cause the $2 billion dollar Mars Science Laboratory to be delayed or canceled outright, members of a NASA advisory committee were warned Thursday.

“Our problem is enormous,” said Jim Green, director of the space agency’s Planetary Science Division, as project costs soar up to 40 percent above budget.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin is to decide whether to cancel, delay or go ahead with the troubled mission on Friday.

Warning on exotic pets

CHICAGO — Warning: young children should not keep hedgehogs as pets — or hamsters, baby chicks, lizards and turtles, for that matter — because of risks for disease.

That’s according to the nation’s leading pediatricians’ group in a new report about dangers from exotic animals.

Besides evidence that they can carry dangerous and sometimes potentially deadly germs, exotic pets may be more prone than cats and dogs to bite, scratch or claw — putting children younger than 5 particularly at risk, the report says.

That means families with children younger than 5 should avoid owning “nontraditional” pets. Also, kids that young should avoid contact with these animals in petting zoos or other public places, according to the report from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The report appears in the October edition of the group’s medical journal, Pediatrics.

Bible-reading marathon

ROME — Pope Benedict XVI’s “In the beginning” started off a weeklong Bible-reading marathon on Italian television Sunday.

RAI state TV began its program called “The Bible Day and Night,” with Benedict reciting the first chapter of the book of Genesis — the holy text’s opening verses about the creation of the world.

The marathon will feature more than 1,200 people reading the Old and New Testament over seven days and six nights.

Though the pope recited his segment from the Vatican, most of the reading will be done live in Rome’s Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, a basilica built in the fourth century.

Besides Roman Catholics, members of other religions, including Jews, Protestants and Orthodox Christians will participate.

Clothing violation arrest

FALLON, Nev. — Four Nevada high school students have been arrested after one of them refused to adhere to the dress code.

Churchill County High School Principal Robbin Pedrett says a 17-year-old refused to turn over his bandanna to a staff member Friday.

Officials say the student turned aggressive when a police officer asked for the article. Three other students stepped in and were arrested on suspicion of interference with a public officer.

The 17-year-old was charged with resisting arrest and assault on a peace officer. The school was locked down for more than an hour.

Combined dispatches