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E coli outbreak investigation narrows

"We understand tonight that the Food and Drug Administration has reported a confirmed positive sample of E coli 0157:H7 in an open bag of spinach from a consumer who became ill in this outbreak.

21 Sep 2006

FDA issues guidance to human tissue establishments

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reminding companies that manufacture human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products (HCT/Ps) that they must comply with FDA regulations.

13 Sep 2006

FDA orders two companies to cease manufacturing human cells and tissues

FDA orders Donor Referral Services (DRS), a human tissue-recovery firm, of Raleigh, NC, and its owner, Philip Guyett, to immediately cease all manufacturing operations.

20 Aug 2006

Drug trial fiasco induced immune system overload in patients

The doctors who treated six British men in a trial of a drug in March which went horribly wrong, say they believe the men suffered an immune system overreaction known as a cytokine storm.

15 Aug 2006

New national standard for handling substances suspected of being biological threat agents

Federal, state, and local agencies have reached consensus on the first validated national standard for collecting, packaging, and transporting samples of visible powders that are suspected of being biological threat agents, such as anthrax.

7 Aug 2006

Latex in food wrappers, packaging and rubber gloves must be declared

A new study has revealed that latex contained in packaging and rubber gloves can trigger fatal allergic reactions.

7 Aug 2006

Pollution-related closings and health advisories at U.S. beaches

Pollution-related closings and health advisories at U.S. beaches were more numerous than ever in 2005, according to NRDC's annual report (PDF 1.8mb) on beachwater quality.

4 Aug 2006

Combating Campylobacter with common sense

A ban on the sale of fresh chicken meat is the not answer to preventing outbreaks of campylobacteriosis says food microbiologist Associate Professor John Brooks.

24 Jul 2006

Digital magnetofluidics holds hope for better medicine

Critical advances in medicine and environmental protection promise to emerge from a new method for biochemical analysis of fluids developed by an international science team led in part by Arizona State University researchers.

21 Jul 2006

Dangers of unregulated herbal therapy

A Case Report in this week's issue of The Lancet highlights the dangers of unregulated herbal therapy.

21 Jul 2006

Suspect chicken smuggled in from China may have been eaten

Health officials in Michigan in the U.S. are working to track down frozen Chinese poultry smuggled into the United States and found in a warehouse in Oakland County.

13 Jul 2006

More Cadbury chocs may be tainted

The scare over salmonella infected chocolate has gathered momentum with another thirty of Cadbury's products now being tested for the nasty bug.

3 Jul 2006

New guidelines for healthy swimming

The World Health Organization (WHO) is launching the world's first-ever international guidelines on how to create safe places to swim and bathe.

28 Jun 2006

Cadbury kept quiet about contaminated chocolate

Chocolate manufacturer Cadbury Schweppes has been forced to recall thousands of chocolate bars because of claims they are contaminated by salmonella.

26 Jun 2006

Brits call for ban on imported eggs

According to a report by the European Food Safety Authority many poultry farms in EU countries are contaminated with salmonella, and eggs imported to Britain carry a food poisoning risk.

18 Jun 2006

Bush's Draconian plan to ban stem cell research flounders as Harvard goes it alone

Scientists at Harvard University in the United States, in direct defiance of President Bush's wish to ban such research, have begun efforts to clone human embryos.

7 Jun 2006

Angola reports 41,475 cholera cases and 1576 deaths

As of 31 May 2006, Angola has reported a total of 41,475 cholera cases and 1576 deaths (overall case fatality rate (CFR) 3.8%).

6 Jun 2006

FDA statement on Bausch & Lomb inspection

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued Bausch & Lomb a report detailing its observations at the conclusion of the inspection of the Greenville, SC plant and a related facility as part of an investigation into a recent increase in Fusarium keratitis infections associated with contact lens wearers using the ReNu with MoistureLoc contact lens cleaning solution.

17 May 2006

Space technology to help hospitals contain spread of avian flu infection

In response to concerns from hospitals to prepare for eventual pandemic flu outbreaks, the French company AirInSpace, with support from ESA's Technology Transfer Programme, has successfully adapted technology developed to protect astronauts for use in critical care centres to protect immune-deficient patients against airborne pathogens such as the avian flu virus.

10 May 2006

Potential vaccine for visceral leishmaniasis developed

Development of a fundamentally new "candidate," or potential, vaccine for visceral leishmaniasis (LEASH-ma-NIGH-a-sis), a parasitic disease that kills about 60,000 people annually, is reported in the current issue of ACS Chemical Biology. Spread by the bite of infected female sand flies, visceral leishmaniasis infects about 500,000 people annually, with the majority of cases occurring in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan and Brazil.

26 Apr 2006