WEDNESDAY, Dec.12 (HealthDay News) -- Merck & Co. has recalled 1.2 million doses of a common childhood vaccine due to potential contamination during the manufacturing process. But, the vaccine does not pose a health threat, U.S. health officials announced Wednesday.

The company voluntarily recalled two lots of the Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) vaccine. Haemophilus influenzae is a group of bacteria that may cause different types of infections in infants and children. They include ear, eye, or sinus infections and pneumonia. The more serious but rare strain can cause meningitis and a life-threatening infection called epiglottitis.

The Hib vaccine is recommended for all children under 5 and is usually given in a three-shot series, starting at 2 months of age.

"The CDC and FDA learned this week that Merck, one of two companies that provide Hib vaccine, is recalling certain lots of the vaccine," Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a late afternoon teleconference. "Right now, this is not a health-threatening situation for children."

There have been no reported cases of adverse effects with the Hib vaccine, Gerberding said. "The recall has nothing to do with the potency of the vaccine, so children who have received the vaccine are protected," she said.

Gerberding noted that Haemophilus influenzae type B is a bacteria and has nothing to do with influenza virus.

Before the Hib vaccine, there were about 20,000 cases of Hib diseases in the United States each year, leading to about 1,000 deaths, according to the CDC.

"But thanks to the vaccine there are fewer than 100 documented cases of Hib disease in the entire United States each year -- a reduction of over 99 percent," Gerberding said.

The vaccine is made by both Merck and Sanofi Pasteur. The recall involves lots of Merck's PedvaxHIB and Comvax shipped after April 2007.

It's not known how many of the 1.2 million doses may have been given to children. But even children who received a vaccine from one of the recalled lots is not at risk of any health problems, Gerberding said.

Gerberding expects the recall will result in shortages of the vaccine, but she doesn't expect any increase in disease because so many children have been vaccinated.

"We are sorry for parents who will be inconvenienced," she said.

Merck identified the problem during routine testing of the manufacturing process at a plant in Pennsylvania, Dr. Norman Baylor, director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Office of Vaccine Research and Review, said during the teleconference.

"Merck identified an issue that creates the potential for microorganisms to survive a sterilization step performed during manufacturing," Baylor said. "No documented contamination of the vaccine has been found."

Parents whose children were recently vaccinated against Hib can look for skin bumps or abscesses at the site of the injection, which could indicate a potential problem, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. But she did not specify what those problems might be.

"These kinds of things might emerge up to a week after a vaccination," Schuchat said. "But we don't have any reports of those."

The CDC is reviewing the Hib vaccine supply throughout the country to see what can be done to alleviate any shortage that occurs, she said.

More information

For more Haemophilus influenzae infections, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

THURSDAY, Dec. 6 (HealthDay News) -- The season for outbreaks of respiratory syncytial virus -- the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia among infants and children under 1 year of age -- is under way, with early case reports coming in from southern and northeastern states, U.S. health officials reported Thursday.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can cause infections throughout life, results in bronchiolitis or pneumonia in up to 40 percent of young children as well as between 75,000 and 125,000 hospitalizations in the United States each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

Those at most risk for severe illness and death from the virus are premature infants, older adults, and persons of any age with compromised respiratory, cardiac or immune systems, the CDC said.

In most parts of the United States, RSV outbreaks usually occur during the winter, although there can be significant differences based on region. For example, the RSV season starts earlier and lasts longer in Florida than in other areas of the country, according to the report in the Dec. 7 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

During the 2006-07 season, labs in 36 states reported 21,470 infections.

Although the national RSV season hasn't fully started yet, the reports showed that infections were seen during the week ending Nov. 17 in the South and during the week ending Nov. 24 in the Northeast. Labs in the Midwest and West have not reported any RSV activity in November, the CDC said.

There is no vaccine for the virus, and most children recover in eight to 15 days, the agency noted.

"As is true of most respiratory viral infections, RSV is spread from person to person quite readily," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University School of Medicine's Prevention Research Center. "Transmission can be reduced considerably by simple measures, such as routine hand-washing, and avoiding close contact with those infected."

The virus can be transmitted through droplets from sneezes and coughs, and from household surfaces on which the virus can lie.

For people most at risk of RSV infection, there is some protection available in the form of an antibody to the virus that is given monthly along with the antiviral drug ribavirin, Katz said.

"Good surveillance data enhance this effort by providing an early and reliable alert system for likely exposures," he said. "Armed with this information, pediatricians can make optimal use of the antibody against RSV. This is a clear case where forewarned is forearmed."

More information

To learn more about respiratory syncytial virus, visit the CDC.

THURSDAY, Nov. 29 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Association of Children's Museums are teaming up on a program to combat the obesity epidemic among America's children.

The program -- called We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children's Activity and Nutrition) -- was introduced Thursday in Boston, Las Vegas and Pittsburgh, which have been designated as We Can! cities.

Other We Can! communities include Armstrong County, Pa.; Carson City, Nev.; Gary, Ind.; South Bend, Ind.; and Roswell, Ga.

"I am really confident that this partnership among the federal government, the We Can! program, the Association of Children's Museums and civic organizations is ultimately going to lead to healthier children in the United States, healthier families and better health-care outcomes for everybody," acting U.S. Surgeon General Rear Admiral Dr. Steven K. Galson said during an afternoon teleconference.

Dr. Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health, said childhood obesity has reached "crisis" proportions.

"We are facing a crisis, and we must find ways to change the tide that is facing us and affecting our children," Zerhouni said during the teleconference.

There are more than 12.5 million overweight children and teens in the United States. Galson said obesity is a big contributor to such childhood health problems as high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes and asthma.

"Chronic diseases cause seven out of 10 deaths," Galson said. "And the costs are staggering."

Galson noted that portion sizes have increased while life in America has become more sedentary. "Our kids are growing up with unhealthy lifestyles, the consequences of which could be with them for the rest of their lives," he said.

"Reversing this epidemic does not have one answer," he added. "It's going to take a concerted action by all of us. We need to focus our activities on prevention -- on what we can do today."

We Can! can be a model for overcoming the challenges of childhood obesity and overweight, Galson said. "Its partnerships are demonstrating how physical activity and sound lifestyle choices can make a difference and how communities can work together to make those lifestyle choices real," he said.

We Can! is an education program to help children aged 8 to 13 years old to maintain a healthy weight. It's being implemented in more than 450 communities in 44 states.

Zerhouni said getting kids away from the TV and the computer is key to improving their health. Increased activity, better food choices and smaller portions complete the arsenal for fighting the obesity epidemic, he said.

The three new We Can! cities announced Thursday are introducing the program to city employees, community groups, corporate wellness programs, health professionals and schools.

While improvement in childhood obesity is vital, the results may not be seen for decades, Galson said.

"It's a national necessity with profound implications -- we all have a stake in the outcome," he said. "The result may not be apparent for many years, but it's going to be a fitter, healthier, more physically active nation in which the epidemic of childhood obesity slows down."

In addition to the Association of Children's Museums, 40 national and corporate partners are starting We Can! programs in community centers, schools, health-care settings, corporate wellness programs and faith-based organizations, officials said.

A study this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that after increasing for the last 25 years, the prevalence of obesity among adults has not risen in the past few years. Still, 34 percent of Americans aged 20 and older are obese.

"In view of these alarmingly high rates of obesity in all population groups, [the] CDC has made the prevention of obesity one of its top public health priorities," Janet Collins, director of CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, said in a prepared statement. "We are actively working in partnership with state and local public health agencies, the nation's schools, community organizations, businesses, medical systems and faith communities to promote and support healthy eating, physical activity and healthy weight."

More information

To learn more about the We Can! program, visit the U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

TUESDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Obese kids who develop hypertension may be watching far too much television, a new study suggests.

The finding "illustrates the need for considerable physician and family involvement to decrease TV time among obese children," study author Dr. Jeffrey B. Schwimmer, associate professor of pediatrics at University of California, San Diego, said in a prepared statement.

His team's study included 546 participants, ages 4 to 17, who were evaluated for obesity at clinics in California and Ohio from 2003 to 2005.

Information was collected on the amount of time the children spent watching TV, along with their body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure.

The researchers found that both the severity of obesity and the amount of time spent watching TV each day were significant independent predictors of hypertension.

Children who spent two to four hours a day watching TV were 2.5 times more likely to have hypertension than children who watched two or less hours of TV a day. Children who watched four or more hours of TV a day were 3.3 times more likely to have hypertension than those who watched less than two hours a day.

The findings are published in the December issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

"The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children watch less than two hours of TV per day but reports that only half (51 percent) of pediatricians make this recommendation to patients. TV viewing is an attractive target for intervention, particularly among obese children with hypertension. Several studies have demonstrated that changing TV time alone can lead to weight loss, without any changes in physical activity," said Schwimmer, director of weight and wellness at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego.

However, in a commentary published in the same issue of the journal, Stuart J.H. Biddle, of the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences in Loughborough, U.K., noted that studies examining the link between TV viewing/sedentary behaviors and obesity can be difficult to interpret.

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about overweight and obese children  .