Fallen party chief denies bribery charge
MIDDLE-AGED people with heart trouble could halve their risk of a heart attack by getting a flu jab, research suggests.
Experts are urging people with heart problems to make sure they get vaccinated after Australian scientists calculated that patients who had done so were 45 per cent less likely to suffer a heart attack than those who were unprotected.
In New Zealand about 1.1 million people are eligible for a free flu vaccine each year, including those aged 65 and over, pregnant women, children aged under five with significant respiratory illnesses and people with underlying medical conditions.
But the researchers said that extending it to everyone aged 50 to 64 could have ‘‘significant population health gains’’.
There are thought to be millions of people around the world with narrowed arteries who could be protected by it.
The study looked at 275 patients in Sydney who had had a heart attack, comparing them with 284 outpatients of a similar age.
They found that more than 12 per cent of the heart attack patients had recently had flu, compared with just under 7 per cent in the comparison group. Half of all the patients had had the flu jab that year.
Flu had not been diagnosed in about 10 per cent of those who had the infection, suggesting it could be missed in hospital patients who turned up with other health problems, the experts said.
While the research showed that flu did not increase the risk of a heart attack, after adjusting for
Study authors sity of New South Wales in Sydney, said: ‘‘The potential population health impact of influenza vaccination, particularly in the age group 50-64 years, who are at risk for [heart attack] but not targeted for vaccination, should be further explored.
‘‘Our data should inform vaccination policy, and cardiologists should be aware of missed opportunities to vaccinate individuals with ischaemic heart disease against influenza.’’
Writing in the journal Heart, they say: ‘‘Even a small effect of influenza vaccination in preventing [heart attacks] may have significant population health gains.’’
CHINA
FALLEN Chinese politician Bo Xilai denied one of the bribery charges against him yesterday as he appeared in public for the first time in more than a year to face China’s most political trial in over three decades.
Bo, the 64-year-old former Communist Party chief of the southwestern city of Chongqing, has been charged with bribery, corruption and abuse of power and will almost certainly be found guilty. But his denial of one of the charges could mean that he will not go quietly.
President Xi Jinping, who wants to rebalance the world’s second-biggest economy, will be keen to put the trial behind him with a minimum of fuss to ensure stability and party unity.
Bo’s downfall has pitted supporters of his Maoist-themed egalitarian social programmes against the capitalist-leaning economic road taken by the leadership, exposing divisions within the ruling party as well as Chinese society.
His trial in the eastern city of Jinan marks the culmination of China’s biggest political scandal since the 1976 downfall of the Gang of Four at the end of the Cultural Revolution.
‘‘Regarding the matter of Tang Xiaolin giving me money three times, I once admitted it against my will during the Central Discipline Inspection Commission’s investigation against me,’’ Bo said, referring to the party’s top anti-graft body.
‘‘[I’m] willing to bear the legal responsibilities, but at that time I did not know the circumstances of these matters, my mind blank.’’
State television said Bo did not contest the evidence shown in court.
Bo was charged with receiving about 21.8 million yuan (NZ$4.5m) in bribes from Xu Ming, a plasticsto-property entrepreneur who is a close friend, and Tang Xiaolin, the general manager of Dalian International Development Ltd, the court said.
Bo’s language suggests that he could fight the charges, and the court account did not say whether he had or would plead guilty to any of the charges.
His trial will last for two days and the verdict is likely to be in early September.
Underscoring popular support for Bo, a handful of supporters protested outside the courthouse
was
a for a second day to denounce what they said was politically motivated persecution.
The charge of abuse of power against Bo related to the murder case involving Bo’s wife Gu Kailai, the court said.
Bo was a rising star in China’s leadership circles when his career was stopped short last year by the murder scandal involving Gu, who was convicted of the November 2011 murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, a business partner and family friend.
The trial will be seen as a test case of China’s commitment to the rule of law, especially whether Bo will be given a chance to defend himself. Yet his guilt is an almost foregone conclusion, given that courts come under Communist Party control. Courts have a 98 per cent conviction rate.