
DATE: Monday, April 14, 1997                TAG: 9704120077

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: From staff and wire reports 

                                            LENGTH:   46 lines

NEWS AND NOTES

Free cataract screenings offered

Eastern Virginia Eye Center at Maryview Medical Center, and Tidewater Eye Surgeons and Associates at Portsmouth General Hospital, are offering free cataract screenings and surgery for those unable to pay for the surgery.

For more information or to make an appointment, contact the Eye Center at 483-0400 and Tidewater Eye Surgeons at 397-4666.

Family members

spread gum disease

Periodontal disease may be passed from one family member to another through the spread of oral bacteria linked to the disease.

An Ohio State University study of 564 family members found that 37.1 percent were infected with Porphyromas gingivalis, a bacterium thought to be a cause of gum disease. Spouses of infected individuals were four times as likely to be infected as spouses of noninfected persons.

Once one member of a family has been diagnosed with periodontal disease, other members should also be examined, said Dr. M. Tuite-McDonnell in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

Patients have

right to a review

Medicare patients who are asked to leave the hospital before they feel ready may request a review.

A hospital must provide a ``Hospital-Issued Notice of Noncoverage'' to Medicare patients or their representatives if the hospital determines that the care the patient is receiving is not covered because it is not medically necessary, according to the Virginia Health Quality Center, which reviews such notices.

For information or to request a review, call the Health Quality Center at 1-800-545-3814.

This virus

seems harmless

Got hepatitis G? Don't worry, the recently discovered virus doesn't seem to make anybody sick. In fact, researchers report in the New England Journal of Medicine that it's questionable whether it should be called a hepatitis virus at all.

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by CNB