Sep 03
HONG KONG — A leading virus expert urged health authorities around the world Sunday to stay vigilant even though the recent swine flu pandemic was less deadly than expected, warning that bird flu could spark the next global outbreak.
A World Health Organization official also defended the U.N.’s health body against accusations that it wasted governments’ money and enriched pharmaceutical companies with its strong warnings during the swine flu outbreak’s early days last year.
WHO declared the swine flu pandemic over last month. The latest death toll is just over 18,600 – far below the millions that were once predicted. Full article…
Tags: Flu, Swine Flu
Aug 30
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A resurgence of bedbugs across the U.S. has homeowners and apartment dwellers taking desperate measures to eradicate the tenacious bloodsuckers, with some relying on dangerous outdoor pesticides and fly-by-night exterminators.
The problem has gotten so bad that the Environmental Protection Agency warned this month against the indoor use of chemicals meant for the outside. The agency also warned of an increase in pest control companies and others making “unrealistic promises of effectiveness or low cost.”
Bedbugs, infesting U.S. households on a scale unseen in more than a half-century, have become largely resistant to common pesticides. Full article…
Tags: Bedbugs, Bedbugs Pesticide
Aug 25
WASHINGTON — Food and Drug Administration officials say they have found positive samples of salmonella that link two Iowa farms to a massive egg recall.
Investigators found salmonella in chicken feed at Wright County Egg that was used by that farm and also Hillandale Farms, the FDA said. Authorities also found additional samples of salmonella in other locations at Wright County Egg. More than 550 million eggs from the two farms were recalled this month after they were linked to salmonella poisoning in several states.
One of the positive samples for salmonella was found in a feed ingredient sold to Wright County Egg from a third party supplier, Central Bi-Products, according to Wright County Egg, raising new questions as to whether other egg farms also could have received contaminated feed. Full article…
Tags: Farms
Aug 21
WASHINGTON — Need an X-ray or stitches? Online, via text message or flashing on a billboard, some emergency rooms are advertising how long the dreaded wait for care will be, with estimates updated every few minutes.
It’s a marketing move aimed at less urgent patients, not the true emergencies that automatically go to the front of the line anyway – and shouldn’t waste precious minutes checking the wait.
“If you’re in a car accident, you’re not going to flip open your iPhone and see what the wait times are,” cautions Dr. Full article…
Tags: Billboard