As you gather your back to school supplies, state health officials say making sure your child’s vaccinations are up to date should also be on the list.

Students in Wisconsin schools are required to have a wide range of vaccinations before they can attend classes. Dr. Seth Foldy, the state Health Officer, says there are also some new additions to the list this year that parents need to be aware of.

Among the major requirements are second shots for Whooping Cough and Chicken Pox. Foldy says those are needed because it’s been found that the first vaccination may not be enough to protect kids throughout their time in school.

Aside from what’s required, Foldy says some suggested vaccines should be considered, such as the flu shot. The CDC is recommending that all children over the age of six months be vaccinated against seasonal influenza this year.

Foldy says all vaccines should be available through a child’s regular medical provider or a local health center.

Information on what vaccines your child has received is available online through the Wisconsin Immunization Program.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:03)

A US District court ruling this week blocked federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, although the Justice Department is expected to appeal. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the Democratic candidate for governor, hopes the decision will be overturned.

If it that doesn’t happen, Barrett says he’d do everything in his power as governor to keep stem cell research going in Wisconsin. He says that includes looking at opportunities for the state to support the industry.

Barrett says the field has brought many jobs to Wisconsin and the work needs to continue. For example, he points to the continued growth of stem cell research at the UW-Madison and at least eight companies that have moved to Wisconsin in recent years because of the work being done here.

The Republican candidates for governor, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former Congressman Mark Neumann, have both said they oppose funding the research and believe the same work can be done using adult stem cells. Barrett says we shouldn’t just abandon work with embryonic stem cells though because of ideological differences. He says that could delay breakthroughs that help treat people suffering from serious medical conditions.

Barrett spoke in Middleton Wednesday at a biotechnology summit.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:08)

A federal judge’s stem cell ruling leaves some uncertainty at UW Madison. Carl Gulbrandsen is Managing Director of the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. “The lines that are being used here under federal funding are the lines that were being distributed by the National Stem Cell Bank,” said Gulbrandson. “And frankly that’s the five original lines that were derived at UW Madison. Those lines were fine under the Bush executive order, that’s what’s being used here on campus.”

But there’s some uncertainty. The injunction (PDF) issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth could also prohibit work on those lines, which were authorized in 2001 by the administration of President George W. Bush. “That work has continued for nine years,” said Tom Still, President of the Wisconsin Technology Council. “Is this judge suggesting that work that has taken place over that long of a period of time must be rolled back? It’s unclear whether that’s the case, and it would seem unfair and counterproductive if that is indeed the case. That had appeared to be a very settled issue.”

The judge blocked the Obama administration from funding human embryonic stem cell research. He ruled the support violates a federal law barring the use of taxpayer money for experiments that destroy human embryos.

 AUDIO: Bob Hague reports (1:15)

A federal court has halted the Obama administration expansion of stem cell research. The judge found last year’s executive order to be in violation of the 1996 Dickey Wicker Amendment. The federal law states no federal funds to be used in any research that harms or destroys human embryos, according to Wisconsin Right to Life Legislative Director Susan Armacost, who says they are pleased by the ruling.

Timothy Kamp of the UW Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center says the judge’s ruling is more restrictive than what former President Bush put in place a decade ago. Bush banned federal funds to develop new embryonic stem cell lines but he allowed funding for cell lines which existed at the time. And private funding of embryonic research was still allowed. But Kamp says Monday’s ruling could affect all those studies and he’s not sure if he’ll have to stop projects that have already been funded. He said he would wait for guidance from the National Institutes of Health.

Right to Life favors stem cell research that does not involve destroying embryos. Armacost says all success have come from these alternative methods.

The White House has responded to the ruling. Spokesman Bill Burton saying it carries the potential to block “critical, life-saving research.”

Hot and wet weather provided perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes this summer, but the state hasn’t found a single case of West Nile virus yet this year.

State Health Department West Nile virus coordinator Zip Johnson says the disease could make a comeback though, following flooding and hot weather in July. She says that could still lead to a bumper crop of mosquitoes that carry West Nile.

Johnson says health officials have collected several mosquitoes of the breed commonly known to carry the disease. However, test results on all of those samples have come back negative for West Nile virus.

Still, given the hot and wet weather we’ve had since June, Johnson is surprised that West Nile virus hasn’t already popped up.

AUDIO: DHS West Nile coordinator Zip Johnson (:21)

A new report shows smoking rates are down among Wisconsin teens.

The Wisconsin Youth Tobacco Survey shows tobacco use down about 15-percent for high school students and nine-percent among middle school students since 2008. The bi-annual report shows about 17.7-percent of high school students and 3.9-percent of middle school kids reported using tobacco.

Dr. Seth Foldy, the state Health Officer, credits much of the decline to rising tobacco prices. He says higher taxes on cigarettes have consistently proven to discourage kids from trying to buy them in the first place. Foldy says other youth-oriented programs also help to educate teens about the dangers of using tobacco.

Foldy is hopeful smoking rates among Wisconsin youth will continue to go down by 2012, as prices continue to rise and now that a statewide smoking ban has taken effect.

The study is based on surveys conducted at 43 high schools and 45 middle schools across the state.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:05)

A new report should serves as a reminder for parents to lock-up household cleaners, according to a UW poison control expert.

A recent study published in the Journal Pediatrics found nearly 40-percent of household cleaning product poisonings and injuries in children under five are related to chemicals stored in spray bottles. The report was based on cases reported between 1990 and 2006.

Donna Lotzer with UW Health Poison Control says the findings should not be a surprise for anyone who has worked in an emergency room or poison center, since spray containers can be quite dangerous. She says the tops can usually be unscrewed easily and there’s also a risk of chemicals being sprayed in a child’s eyes.

Lotzer says part of the problem is a lack of child-proof safety features on most spray bottles. She says parents need to store those products in a locked location, and never leave them unattended when being used around small children.

Parents might also want to re-think letting young children play with spray bottles because they often can’t tell the difference between a harsh cleaner and the water that was in a similar bottle the day before.

Lotzer says experts are available to help respond to suspected poisonings at 1-800-222-1222.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:11)

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows national obesity rates continue to climb.

Data collected by the CDC shows nine states now have adult obesity rates above 30-percent, while at least 25-percent of Wisconsin’s population is considered obese. State Department of Health Services nutritionist Mary Pesick says it’s a serious problem that needs intensive efforts to combat.

The CDC classifies an obese person as someone with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more.

Obesity-related illnesses resulted in $147 billion in medical costs in 2008, with much of the bill being picked up by taxpayers through government-funded programs.

The CDC is urging federal action to fight the problem. Pesick says the state is already working with programs to better educate the public, although she says people need to take responsibility for their own health as well. She says healthier food choices and more active lifestyles will go a long way towards helping to bring obesity rates down.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:16)

An iPhone application developed by the UW Department of Family Medicine helps fourth-year medical students find postgraduate training that best fits their needs. Dr. Kathy Oriel, director of DFM’s residency program, says it will help students decide on their residency based on multiple levels. “It’s kind of crazy, but yes, that’s what they can do,” says Oriel. “The technology is there, we just had to find someone who could offer what we wanted to do, and put in an iPhone application.”

Oriel notes there’s a huge primary care physician shortage, and family care doctors are the ones who’ll need to step up and fill that.”Two thirds of residents stay in the area in which they do their training, so as we look to the future shortage of family physicians across Wisconsin, we hope that this is a very small way to attract more high-quality docs to our state.” The app was released officially just last week, but some students had already found it and begun using it on their own

Too many Wisconsin kids are still being exposed to secondhand smoke. Recent research shows Wisconsin children are exposed to secondhand smoke at a rate 40 percent higher than the national average. “What they found is about ten percent of kids in Wisconsin are in households where adults are smoking,” says Dr. Nathan Jones of the UW Carbone Cancer Center. “That translates into about 139,000 kids in the state who are being exposed to smoke.” 

Jones says the researchers were surprised, because Wisconsin has the 25th-lowest adult smoking rate in the nation. He says more education by health care professionals may make a difference. “Young children see doctors about twice a year on average, so that interaction with a health professional is a good place to teach parents about the dangers of secondhand smoke,” says Jones. The study, the National Survey of Childrens Health conducted by researchers from the National Cancer Institute, found that 10.5% of Wisconsin children age 17 and younger are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke, and ranked Wisconsin 5th in the nation for exposure to secondhand smoke among children. Childhood exposure to secondhand smoke causes respiratory problems, higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome, respiratory infections, ear problems and childhood asthma.