Christopher Doering
ReutersTue, 20 May 2008 14:25 UTC
Cattle too sick or injured to walk will be banned from entering U.S. slaughterhouses, the Agriculture Department said on Tuesday, a change that comes months after the largest meat recall in American history.
USDA said a total ban on so-called "downer" cattle from the U.S. food supply will help prevent the mistreatment of animals and ensure meat safety. The rule will be expedited and should be in place in a "matter of months."
Currently, most downer cattle are banned from slaughter, but USDA rules allow some animals to go through if they have passed inspection earlier. Packers are required to alert USDA veterinarians in those cases so the cattle can be reinspected before they are slaughtered for food.
CAR washes have emerged as a new legionnaire's disease threat after seven people were admitted to hospital in the world's first reported outbreak at a car wash.
GlaxoSmithKline said this morning that a vaccine that could help prevent an outbreak of the H5N1 'bird flu' virus had been approved by the European Commission.
An outbreak of Salmonella infections in people has been traced to contaminated dry dog food, the first time such a link has been uncovered, U.S. officials said Thursday.
A primate model for autism using the U.S. children's immunization schedule was unveiled at the International Meeting For Autism Research (IMFAR) this weekend. The research underscores the critical need for studies into vaccine safety and the immune and mitochondrial dysfunction of autistic children. The National Autism Association (NAA) questions why the government hasn't undertaken these vital studies and why researchers have had to depend on private money to perform this critical science that will surely impact the health of millions of children worldwide.
CryoLife, Inc., a biomaterials, medical device and tissue processing company, announced the first implantation of the combination aortic-mitral allograft heart valve in a patient at the Cleveland Clinic. The surgery was performed by Dr. Jose Navia, a cardiac surgeon with the Heart and Vascular Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.
The method used to process the combination aortic-mitral human heart valve was developed by CryoLife in collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic. The innovative valve was developed as a replacement option for patients with infective endocarditis involving both the aortic and mitral valves. Infective endocarditis is a condition in which the structures of the heart, particularly the heart valves, are infected.
There is clear evidence that small amounts of fluoride, at or near levels added to U.S. water supplies, present potential risks to the thyroid gland, according to the National Research Council's (NRC) first-ever published review of the fluoride/thyroid literature.(A)
Fluoride, in the form of silicofluorides, injected into 2/3 of U.S. public water supplies, ostensibly to reduce tooth decay, was never safety-tested.(B)
Domestic violence can happen to men, not only to women, according to Group Health research in the June American Journal of Preventive Medicine. "Domestic violence in men is under-studied and often hidden--much as it was in women 10 years ago," said study leader Robert J. Reid, MD, PhD, an associate investigator at the Group Health Center for Health Studies. "We want abused men to know they're not alone."
A new survey cautions physicians that drugs commonly prescribed for patients suffering from immunological disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease may carry risks of serious infections other than the known risk of tuberculosis.
As many as 50 million Americans may suffer from immunological disorders that are treated with drugs that suppress immunity. Among these drugs are agents that inhibit tumor necrosis factor-á (TNF), a cytokine receptor involved in cellular communication. It is known that anti-TNF therapies are associated with an increased risk of tuberculosis.
Widely varying blood glucose levels may pose as great a threat, or possibly a greater threat, to critically ill patients as high, but steady, glycemic levels, according to researchers in Saudi Arabia, who will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on May 20, 2008.
"We found that patients with wide fluctuation were significantly more likely to die in the intensive care unit and the hospital than those who experience low glycemic variability," said Hasan M. Al-Dorzi, M.D., who led the research at King AdbulAziz Medical City, in Riyadh. "This finding may lead to further research that changes our focus from only treating high blood glucose to also minimizing changes in glycemic levels."
