Researchers have discovered how salmonella and E.coli germs - more commonly associated with chicken and bovine products - can spread to salad and vegetable leaves.
A salmonella outbreak in the UK last year was traced back to imported basil while an E.coli outbreak in America in 2006 was linked back to pre-packed baby spinach.
Professor Gadi Frankel, from Imperial College, said consumers needed to be aware of the risk of contaminated salad to avoid potential food poisoning.
"All of these factors, together with the globalisation of the food market, mean that cases of salmonella and E.coli poisoning caused by salads are likely to rise in the future.
"In their efforts to eat healthily, people are eating more salad products, choosing to buy organic brands and preferring the ease of 'pre-washed' bagged salads from supermarkets, than ever before," he said.
Max Pemberton
TelegraphMon, 28 Jul 2008 05:47 UTC
I have a confession to make. I throw my hands up, safe in the knowledge that a great many doctors have performed the same misdeed. I like to think that my prescribing habits are sensible. I read and appraise the latest research, ensure I am aware of Government advice and, whenever possible, practise evidence-based medicine. Despite this, there have been times when I have prescribed medication knowing that it isn't going to work.
The symptoms are some of the most disheartening that doctors have to face: a sigh and a roll of the eyes. Sometimes, these develop into a raised voice or even foul language. And the medication guaranteed to abate them? Antibiotics.
You can cut out the middle man and get food for less. You can also eat healthier, while saving the bees.
How?
Well, for one thing, regulation of the U.S. food supply has become worthless, with hundreds of cases of
mad cow and salmonella poisoning a year. Growing your own food ensures your safety, and may even save money in the long run by preventing expensive medical bills. But there's a lot more to it than that . . .
Nicola Woolcock and David Rose
Times OnlineThu, 04 Sep 2008 04:00 UTC
Girls aged 12 will be inoculated from today in a nationwide schools programme against a virus that can cause cervical cancer. Many are expected to boycott the jabs, however, because parents are fearful of vaccines after the MMR controversy.
The Government began an advertising campaign yesterday to raise awareness. Some families complained, though, that they had received too little information too late to make a decision. In a trial last year a fifth of parents refused permission for their daughters to have the injection.
About 600,000 girls will be vaccinated initially, followed by a catch-up programme for older teenagers. It will give protection against strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV), considered to be responsible for 70 per cent of cases of cervical cancer, which kills more than 1,000 women a year in Britain.
Keith Howe
OpEdNewsTue, 02 Sep 2008 16:48 UTC
"Dr. Jeffrey W. Runge, chief medical officer at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, told a congressional subcommittee on July 22 that the risk of a large-scale biological attack on the nation is significant. Runge used the terrifying example of a terrorist flying over Providence with an aerosolized sprayer releasing air-borne anthrax over the metropolitan area." (1)
I don't recall any terrorist's flying over America with an aerosolized sprayer releasing airborne weapons of mass destruction on her citizens. I am aware, however, of the U.S. government spraying weapons of mass destruction on us, in the form of toxic nerve agents (malathion, pyrenone 5,25, Checkmate OLR-F, Checkmate LBAM-F) with the excuse of protecting us from non-threatening fruit flies, light brown apple moths, and mosquitoes allegedly carrying the West Nile Virus (which is almost no threat to humans).
A troubling new study raises new concerns about kids committing suicide in the U.S.
After a one year spike in the number of suicides, doctors were hoping to see more normal numbers in the latest study, but they didn't. The number of kids committing suicide in the U.S. remains higher than expected, and that has doctors and parents looking for answers.
A sudden and dramatic increase in pediatric suicides may reflect an emerging trend rather than a single-year anomaly. That's the conclusion of new suicide research, conducted at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, which looked at pediatric suicide trends over a 10-year period.
Following a decade of steady decline, the suicide rate among U.S. youth younger than 20 years of age increased by 18 percent from 2003-2004 - the largest single-year change in the pediatric suicide rate over the past 15 years. Although worrisome, the one-year spike observed in 2003-2004 does not necessarily reflect a changing trend. Therefore, researchers examined national data on youth suicide from 1996-2005 in order to determine whether the increase persisted from 2004-2005, the latest year for which data are available.
Loss of sleep, even for a few short hours during the night, can prompt one's immune system to turn against healthy tissue and organs. A new article in the September 15th issue of Biological Psychiatry, by the UCLA Cousins Center research team, reports that losing sleep for even part of one night can trigger the key cellular pathway that produces tissue-damaging inflammation. The findings suggest a good night's sleep can ease the risk of both heart disease and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Ben Hirschler
ReutersWed, 03 Sep 2008 09:54 UTC
Munich: Young men who die suddenly after being arrested by the police may be victims of a new syndrome similar to one that kills some wild animals when they are captured, Spanish researchers said on Tuesday.
Manuel Martinez Selles of Madrid's Hospital Gregorio Maranon reached the conclusion after investigating 60 cases of sudden unexplained deaths in Spain following police detention.
In one third of the cases, death occurred at the point of arrest, while in the remainder death was within 24 hours, Selles told the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology.
All but one of the casualties were male and their average age was just 33 years, with no previous history of cardiovascular disease.
"Something unusual is going on," Sells said.
Comment: Taser syndrome?
Physical exercise may help improve memory in older people and delay the onset of dementia, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows.
A University of Western Australia study has found that walking for 50 minutes three times a week can lessen memory problems for older people. The study involved 170 volunteers aged 50 and over who reported some memory trouble but who did not have dementia.
The number of people with Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, is predicted to quadruple worldwide over the next half century. Alzheimer's is a terminal and degenerative disease for which there is known no cure. In its common form, it affects people over 65 years old. The most commonly symptom is memory loss, as well as the difficulty to remember recently learned facts. Studies have shown that 700,000 in the UK live with dementia and the number may increase over the next two decades.
Think back to when you slipped on the ice or in the shower: the ground rushing up, your feet shooting out, terror building even as your mind is working a mile a second to plot a soft landing.
Comment: Taser syndrome?