State & Local
Monda
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The Battalion
Monday, March 23,18!!
Cholera wave nears Rio Grande
Mexican border towns report first cases as water-borne epidemic approaches
MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) - Not far
from the power lunches and billionaire indus
tries in this industrial center, children play in
rotting garbage and old men scrounge for food
scraps.
The other side of the tracks in this bustling
northern industrial city was ripe for the
cholera that arrived last week.
The disease, which has killed thousands in
Latin America in the past year, has reached
northern Mexico and its rivers, which flow into
the Rio Grande along the American border.
Carlos Rojas, a cholera specialist at Monter
rey's Technological Institute of Higher Educa
tion said the Rio Grande could be affected.
"But the only way this is going to go into
the United States is through illegal aliens" who
cross to find work, he said.
Thousands do, or try to, each month.
Texas health officials say they have not yet
found cholera there.
A dozen cases were confirmed. News re
ports, quoting unnamed health authorities, say
there may have been as many as 200.
Along the two-lane highway to Reynosa
from Guadalupe outside Monterrey, card
board shacks line the Santa Catarina River
which runs through the city.
Water filters through the trash that dots the
hills and drains into the water Amparo Ortiz
Munoz uses to bathe herself and her five chil
dren.
She has heard about cholera but is not sure
what it is.
"I'm turning to the radio for information. I
know I have to boil water," said Ortiz, wash
ing a pile of clothes outside her tiny one-room
shack.
In Guadalupe, a working-class community
of 500,000, some 100,000 people live without
drainage or drinkable water.
Scores of suburbs around this city of 2.5
million share the problem.
"Our government wants to copy America
but in America people have water and
drainage," said Ignacio Staines, a physician
and activist in the neighborhood called Land
and Liberty, where streams of sewage run
down the hills like rivers.
Cholera is known as the poor peoples' dis
ease, and it does just fine in Guadalupe, where
10 of the 12 confirmed cases here were found.
It is the first time cholera has been spotted
in northern Mexico, 100 miles from the U.S.
border.
Cholera bacteria showed up in two water
samples from the San Juan River north of Mon
terrey, which receives tons of raw sewage daily
and flows into the Rio Grande along the U.S.
border.
"At this moment, the San Juan river is our
great mortification," said Jose Cavazos, health
director for the state of Nuevo Leon.
"It's a cauldron for any type of germ."
The government said the victims brought
back the cholera from southern Mexico, where
most of Mexico's 35 deaths have been report
ed.
"We were convinced it would never reach
us," read an editorial in El Norte. "Cholera
was something that could only happen in un
der-development."
"Cholera knocked on the door of the first
world. It's a reminder of the unequal develop
ment in our state," said the El Porvenir news
paper.
The government has declared an alert in
several municipalities and has dispatched
health officials to inform people about precau
tions. But it dismisses fears of an epidemic.
"Nuevo Leon is not at risk," said Cavazos.
"There's drainage and 92 percent has drink
able water."
He said later samples from the San Juan
tested negative and that the river was contami
nated by human waste from cholera carriers.
Although easily treated if caught on time,
cholera can kill. The disease is spread through
food and water contaminated by fecal matter.
Crime Watch
Police ask for information
in recent vehicle break-ins
On Wednesday, March 4 around 9:30 a.m. near the intersectio"|
of Church & Nagle Streets in College Station, a college student was t:
returning to his vehicle when he observed a Hispanic and bladl
male walking away from the vicinity of his car.
As the owner approached he saw that a vehicle window was
missing, then noticed that one of the suspects was carrying a baj I
that had been in his car. The vehicle owner watched the suspects I
get into their car then followed them to get a description.
The witness reported that both of the suspects appeared to be}
in their 20s, with the black male being 5 feet 10 inches tall, weigh |
ing 150 lbs; and the Hispanic male 5 feet 8 inches tall and 140 lbs.
They were driving a chrome-blue 1971 two-door Ford with |
Texas license plate 668-ZFA. Detectives believe these suspects |
may be involved in several similar vehicle burglaries.
This week the College Station Police Department and Crime
Stoppers need your help to identify the persons responsible for thi;
vehicle burglary. If you have information that could be helpful
call Crime Stoppers at 775-TIPS. When you call. Crime Stoppers!
will assign you a special coded number that will protect your iden
tity.
If your call leads to an arrest and grand jun' indictment Crime
Stoppers will pay you up to $1,000 in cash. Crime Stoppers also
pays cash for information on any felony crime or the location oft
any wanted fugitive.
So call Brazos County Crime Stoppers today, at 775-TIPS.
Military campaigns against whistle-blowers, paper claims
DALLAS (AP) — Some military whistle
blowers have been forced to undergo
psychiatric evaluations to discredit
information they provide to investigators,
a newspaper reported Sunday.
Military commanders have ordered
subordinates to undergo evaluations and
have sent them to mental wards as a form
of intimidation or reprisal. The Dallas
Morning News also reported in its
copyrighted story.
Military and civilian employees who
report wrongdoing have been targeted,
along with political dissenters or those who
simply annoy commanders, said current
and former service members.
"It is intolerable," said Rep. Barbara
Boxer, D-Calif., "that military whistle
blowers should be intimidated by such an
insidious tactic and that those responsible
should go unpunished."
In a three-month investigation by the
newspaper of 27 psychiatric cases involving
the military, most alleged victims had
spotless records until they challenged the
system.
Many have spent years since in federal
court seeking redress.
The Pentagon denies the allegations.
The newspaper investigated nine cases
in detail.
In one, Capt. Denise Kirkland, an Air
Force surgeon who complained about
shoddy practices at the Little Rock Air
Force Base hospital, was told by her
supervisor that she had suicidal tendencies
and ordered to a psychiatric evaluation in
San Antonio.
In 1988, Army Staff Sgt. William T.
Murphy complained about how a friend
had been treated by a superior officer at the
Foreign Materiel Intelligence Group at
Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.
A series of reprimands followed alon
with a 30-minute psychiatric examinatio
that reached a "diagnostic impression
Murphy had passive-aggressive traits.H
asked for his record to be cleared.
The House Armed Services Commit
has held hearings on psychiatric abus
since 1987 and continues to prod tl
Pentagon for reforms.
The Pentagon has resisted procedur
reforms as potentially harmful to militafl
order.
Research shows caffeine consumption unhealthy
State begins
investigation
of ambulance
companies
SAN ANTONIO (AP) - The
Texas Department of Human Ser
vices has halted Medicaid pay
ments to two San Antonio ambu
lance firms that submitted more
than $800,000 in claims.
The agency has referred some
claims to the Travis County Dis
trict Attorney's office, the San An
tonio Express-News reported
Sunday.
"We anticipate going to the
grand jury in the next couple of
months," said Claire Dawson-
Brown, the prosecutor in charge
of the case.
Reliable Ambulance Service
and Superior Ambulance Service,
are both appealing the DHS civil
actions.
Reliable and its owners, Fer
nando and Luis Canseco, are ac
cused of making 3,281 false claims
•totaling $618,824, state records
show.
Superior and its owners, John
Leo Royal Jr., his wife and daugh
ter, are accused of making 1,630
false claims totaling $201,808.
By Karen S. Jensen
Special to The Battalion
Everywhere you turn these
days, you get mixed messages
about how caffeine affects your
body. Should you cut back drasti
cally on your intake of caffeine-
containing foods, use it in moder
ation, or not use it at all?
Let us look into what research
has shown so you can make your
own informed decision.
You may have witnessed, or
been a participant, in the follow
ing scenario during your career as
a student:
Somewhere in the middle of
the room, an individual is trying
to sit still. Another may be trying
to concentrate, but is seemingly
inattentive. They may also have
to get up in the middle of the lec
ture to, most likely, go to the bath
room. They may rap their fingers
or nervously tap their feet under
their desk.
You may ask yourself, "Are
these people hyperactive?" No,
they may be caffeine-sensitive.
This scenario may relate to an ex
treme case, but these symptoms
may indicate a caffeine-sensitive
individual.
Caffeine is generally defined as
a drug that stimulates the nervous
system, but it also has a diuretic
effect. Besides waking you up in
the morning, caffeine makes you
excrete more water. A drug that
has diuretic action has the possi
bility of removing water-soluble
vitamins along with it. Water-sol
uble nutrients such as Vitamin C,
B-vitamins, zinc, and magnesium
are the main victims.
Caffeine can also cause ner
vousness, irritability, anxiety, in
somnia, and disturbances in heart
rate and rhythm. It also seems to
influence blood pressure, coro
nary circulation, and the secretion
of gastric juices. It also increases
the adrenaline level in the blood
stream.
Many athletes have tried to use
this for positive athletic perfor
mance, but this has not proven to
increase athletic ability to any ex
tent in scientifically- contAI
studies. The increased adreniil
in the blood puts stress onywl
heart, hormonal systems, ait
nerves.
Even so, students may tali
caffeine in the form of over-tht
counter medication, such a 1
NoDoz or Vivarin, in an effort!
help with late-night studyint
This practice is not recommendel
The effects of caffeine on mi
ternal and prenatal health have
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The Battalion
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Chimney Hill Retail Plaza 701 University East, Suite 403
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Free Spring Allergy
Skin Testing
Individuals with spring allergy symptoms to screen for
upcoming research studies.
Impetigo Study
Individuals of any age with symptoms of impetigo (bacterial
infection of the skin) to participate in an investigational drug
research study using a cream with drug in it. $150 for those
chosen and completing the study.
Tension Headache?
Individuals with moderate to severe Tension Headaches wanted
to participate in a 4-hour headache relief research study with
an investigational medication in tablet form. Flexible hours.
$75 incentive for individuals who are chosen and complete
the study. Daily, till 6:30 776-0400.
Asthma Study
WANTED: Individuals, age 12-65, with mild to moderate
asthma to participate in a clinical research study for 6 weeks
with an investigational medication in inhaler form. Individuals
must be using inhaled steroids and bronchodilators daily to
qualify. $400 incentive paid to those completing the study.
SKIN INFECTION STUDY
Individuals age 13 and older wanted to participate in a
research study for bacterial skin infections such as: abscess,
infected burns, boils, infected hair follicles, impetigo, and
others. Investigational oral antibiotic in capsule form.
$100 incentive for those chosen who complete the study.
For more information call:
BIOPHARMA, INC.
7T6-0400
MSC
MEDIC
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