Category Archives: Medical

Swine flu creates controversy on Twitter

By doris | Published: April 28, 2009

Full Story At  CNN.com Some observers say Twitter — a micro-blogging site where users post 140-character messages — has become a hotbed of unnecessary hype and misinformation about the outbreak, which is thought to have claimed more than 100 lives in Mexico. “This is a good example of why [Twitter is] headed in that wrong [...]

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Regular flu season precautions advised in current outbreak

By doris | Published: April 27, 2009

Full Story At  CNN.com Health officials’ advice is to follow common-sense precautions: Wash your hands, stay home if you’re sick and listen to your local health authorities. “Very frequent hand-washing is something that we talk about time and time again and that is an effective way to reduce transmission of disease,” Dr. Richard Besser, acting [...]

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New U.S. swine flu cases spread pandemic fears

By doris | Published: April 26, 2009

Full Story At  msnbc.com At least two cases of the human swine influenza have been confirmed in Kansas and one more in California, bringing the U.S. total to 11 and stoking fears that the virus could trigger a pandemic. At least eight students at a New York City high school probably have swine flu, but [...]

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Army: 3 vials of virus samples missing from Maryland facility

By doris | Published: April 23, 2009

Full Story At  CNN.com The Army’s Criminal Investigation Command agents have been visiting Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, to investigate the disappearance of the vials. Christopher Grey, spokesman for the command, said this latest investigation has found “no evidence of criminal activity.” The vials contained samples of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis, a virus that sickens horses [...]

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Factories dumping drugs into sewage

By doris | Published: April 20, 2009

Full Story At  msnbc.com Federal scientists testing for pharmaceuticals in water have been finding significantly more medicine residues in sewage downstream from public treatment facilities that handle waste from drugmakers. Early results from two pivotal federal studies compare wastewater at treatment plants that handle sewage from drugmakers with those that do not. The studies cover [...]

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Insurers offer to stop charging sick people more

By doris | Published: March 25, 2009

Full Story At  msnbc.com WASHINGTON – The health insurance industry offered Tuesday for the first time to curb its controversial practice of charging higher premiums to people with a history of medical problems. The offer from America’s Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a potentially significant shift in the [...]

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Georgia ‘Octomom bill’ would limit embryo implants

By doris | Published: March 4, 2009

Full Story At CNN.com A Georgia state senator introduced legislation to limit the number of embryos that can be implanted in a woman’s uterus during in-vitro fertilization procedures. Sen. Ralph Hudgens, a Republican from near Athens, Georgia, said his legislation was inspired by Nadya Suleman, the woman who said she gave birth to octuplets after [...]

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Peanut Butter May Be Labeled High Risk

By doris | Published: February 15, 2009

Full Story At CBS News (CBS/AP) In the wake of a deadly salmonella outbreak, the government may designate peanut butter as a high-risk food, according to a top health official. Dr. Stephen Sundlof, the head of the FDA’s food safety center, told lawmakers that peanut butter may be singled out for special attention as agency [...]

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Dead rodents, excrement in peanut processor lead to recall

By doris | Published: February 13, 2009

Full Story At  CNN.com (CNN) — The Texas Department of State Health Services on Thursday ordered the recall of all products ever shipped from the Peanut Corporation of America’s plant in Plainview, Texas, after discovering dead rodents, rodent excrement and bird feathers in the plant.

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Octuplet’s mom on food stamps, publicist says

By doris | Published: February 10, 2009

Full Story At msnbc.com Nadya Suleman, the mother of the octuplets born last month, gets $490 a month in food stamps, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday evening. Three of her first children also get federal supplemental security income because they are disabled, the Times reported

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Cracking the poison processed peanuts case

By doris | Published: February 9, 2009

Full Story At msnbc.com WASHINGTON – A century ago, at the dawn of food safety laws, inspection amounted to little more than opening a bin of flour and looking for something wiggly. It’s a different story now. Solving the case of the poison processed peanuts took marathon work by federal scientists, clues in Canada, Oregon, [...]

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84 killed in deadliest-ever Australian wildfires

By doris | Published: February 8, 2009

Full Story At Yahoo! News HEALESVILLE, Australia – Towering flames razed entire towns in southeastern Australia and burned fleeing residents in their cars as the death toll rose to 84 on Sunday, making it the country’s deadliest fire disaster. At least 700 homes were destroyed in Saturday’s inferno when searing temperatures and wind blasts produced [...]

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Octuplet Mom: A Huge Family Was ‘Always a Dream’

By doris | Published: February 6, 2009

 People.com Nadya Suleman says she tried for seven years to get pregnant before she successfully conceived with in-vitro fertilization at a facility – “and then I just kept going in.” In an interview for the Today show, the recent mother of octuplets – who has six other children at home – tells NBC’s Ann Curry: [...]

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Meals sent to Ky., Ark. had recalled peanut butter

By doris | Published: February 5, 2009

Full Story At Yahoo! News LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Officials on Thursday warned victims of last week’s ice storm not to eat peanut butter packets from emergency meal kits distributed by the federal government because they had been recalled for possible salmonella contamination. The kits were shipped to Arkansas and Kentucky to help feed some of [...]

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Recall: Kellogg Takes Peanut Butter Snacks off Shelves

By doris | Published: February 3, 2009

Full Story At ABC News NEW YORK (Reuters) – Kellogg Co said on Wednesday it was removing its Austin and Keebler branded peanut butter snacks from store shelves and put a hold their shipments due to the current Salmonella food poisoning outbreak. But the company said its own investigation has not indicated any concerns over [...]

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Peanut Product Recall Took Company Approval

By doris | Published: February 3, 2009

Full Story At NYTimes.com WASHINGTON — Even though federal health officials have begun a criminal investigation into whether the Peanut Corporation of America deliberately sold contaminated products, the government still needed the company’s permission last week before announcing a huge recall of its products.

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Crippling Ice Storm Sweeps Heartland

By doris | Published: February 2, 2009

Full Story At  CBS News (CBS) The digging out continued across much of the heartland Sunday after a crippling ice storm last week killed at least 42 people. Nearly 700,000 people in five states are still without power, including hard-hit Kentucky, which has mobilized its entire National Guard, reports CBS News correspondent Hari Sreenivasan. Kentucky [...]

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Recall: Frozen chili may contain stones

By doris | Published: February 1, 2009

Full Story At wkyc.com WASHINGTON – Windsor Quality Food Co., Ltd. is recalling more than 600,000 pounds of frozen chili beef products that may contain small stones or rock fragments. The following products are subject to recall:

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Chili Recall Expanded

By doris | Published: January 31, 2009

Full Story At wzzm13.com A recall because of Botulism concerns has expanded and it includes three products sold by Meijer. Georgia based Castleberry’s Food Company is calling back more than 80 brands of canned chili, beef stew, corned beef hash and other meat products. That’s in addition to the ten brands it recalled Thursday. The [...]

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Gov’t launches criminal probe in peanut recall

By doris | Published: January 30, 2009

Full Story At The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials say the government has opened a criminal investigation into the salmonella outbreak. Stephen Sundlof, head of the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety center, said Friday the Justice Department will investigate possible criminal violations by the Blakely, Ga., peanut processing plant that shipped tainted [...]

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