Daytona Beach top pick
for taking spring break
Spring break is a $1 billion a year industry. About 1.5 million college students participate every year.
The top 10 spring break locations for college students are:
10. Key West, Fla.
9. Dominican Republic
8. New England
7. Miami Beach
6. New York City
5. New Orleans
4. South Padre Island, Texas
3. Panama City, Fla.
2. Cancun
1. Daytona Beach, Fla.
There were more than 1,300 arrests in Panama City, Fla., during spring break of 2011.
According to a Canadian survey, 76 percent of male college students intend to have sex with someone they meet while out of town. For women, that number is 19 percent.
— Kristi Barlette
Albany Times Union
Hints from Heloise:
Guidelines provide
weight for car seats Dear Readers: How do you know if you have your child in the correct car seat? Here are some general guidelines from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
A child under the age of 1 year should be placed in a rear-facing car seat. A child never should be front-facing before his or her first birthday and should weigh at least 20-22 pounds. Ages 1-3 years old can be placed in a front-facing car seat once they have outgrown the weight and height limits of the rear-facing seat. It is recommended to keep a child rear-facing as long as possible.
Ages 4-7 years old and 40 pounds and above can be moved into a booster seat using the adult lap and shoulder belt. Around age 8, children start to outgrow their booster seat and can use only the adult safety belt, so long as it fits them properly.
Should a child ride in the front seat? Laws vary from state to state, but it is recommended that a child under 12 sit in the back seat. For more information, you can visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s new website, www.safercar.gov, or call 888-327-4236.
— King Features
Study: Norovirus behind
14,000 hospitalizations
Norovirus infection has become the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis in children under 5 in the United States.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine estimates that norovirus infection leads to 14,000 hospitalizations, 281,000 emergency room visits and 627,000 outpatient visits a year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it leads to 800 deaths a year, but the vast majority of people infected recover completely. The virus causes severe stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting.
For the study, the researchers counted laboratory-confirmed cases in three counties in 2009 and 2010. Norovirus was confirmed in about 20 percent of cases of acute gastroenteritis in children.
There is no vaccine and no cure for norovirus infection, and it is highly contagious. There are various strains of the virus, and some may be more potent than others.
“It’s usually a self-limiting illness,” said the lead author, Daniel C. Payne, an epidemiologist with the CDC. “But the worrisome thing is that you can shed the virus and transmit the disease for weeks after you feel fine.”
— Nicholas Bakalar
New York Times