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Crispy brand cookies may contain undeclared allergens, warns FDA

TWI Foods Inc. is voluntarily recalling several varieties of Crispy brand cookies and rusk. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) along with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and TWI Foods Inc., are warning people with allergies to milk or almonds not to consume Crispy brand cookie and rusk products. The affected products contain almonds and/or milk which are not clearly declared on the label.

6 Apr 2012

DDW to be held May 19-22 in San Diego

Thousands of physicians, researchers and academics from around the world will gather in San Diego in May for Digestive Disease Week- (DDW), the premiere scientific conference in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology, endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery.

6 Apr 2012

TV star stars as "Autoimmune Walk" ambassador

Beloved actress and star of ER, Life Goes On, Christy and the Mystery Woman series will begin a guest starring stint on the Lifetime hit Army Wives this Sunday, April 8.

6 Apr 2012

Hot topics in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery

Airport security screening has increased substantially during the past decade, while joint replacement procedures also continue to rise. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), in 2009, nearly 300,000 total hip replacements (THR) were performed in the United States.

6 Apr 2012

NIH to award $20M over 5 years to support global health training for scientists

"A network of global health research training institutions will increasingly focus on the rising levels of chronic diseases in developing countries, the National Institutes of Health Fogarty International Center announced on Wednesday," CQ HealthBeat reports (Bristol, 4/4).

6 Apr 2012

New medical loss ratio rules would have provided significant rebates

Consumers nationwide would have received an estimated $2 billion in rebates from health insurers if the new medical loss ratio (MLR) rules enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act had been in effect in 2010, according to a new study from The Commonwealth Fund.

6 Apr 2012

'Political will, dogged organization' needed to maintain momentum of deworming campaigns

In this New York Times opinion piece, journalist Amy Yee examines the cost-effectiveness of and challenges to deworming treatment campaigns in the developing world, highlighting campaigns in India and Kenya.

6 Apr 2012

Antibiotics may have absolutely no effect within a few decades

The increased resistance of bacteria to antibiotics is a global problem. Antibiotics are increasingly less effective. Microbiologist Dr. John Hays of Erasmus MC in Rotterdam is sounding the alarm: "The problem is so dire that within a few decades antibiotics will have absolutely no effect".

6 Apr 2012

Comprehensive approach needed to combat typhoid in Africa, worldwide

Though the focus on typhoid fever traditionally has focused on Asia, where the disease is endemic, "[s]ince early November 2011, there has been a surge of typhoid fever outbreaks in central and southern Africa, affecting children and adults alike," Christopher Nelson, director of the Coalition against Typhoid (CaT) at the Sabin Vaccine Institute, and Ciro de Quadros, executive vice president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, write in this Atlantic opinion piece.

6 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 6, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the Obama administration's response to a federal court about the Supreme Court's power.

6 Apr 2012

Poultry producers still use FDA-banned antibiotics

In a joint study, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Arizona State University found evidence suggesting that a class of antibiotics previously banned by the U.S. government for poultry production is still in use. Results of the study were published March 21 in Environmental Science & Technology.

6 Apr 2012

GAVI announces HPV, rubella vaccines will be available to developing countries

"The GAVI Alliance has announced that it will include human papillomavirus (HPV) and combined measles-rubella vaccines in its portfolio for the first time" to help protect women from cervical cancer and children from disability or premature death, Africa Science News reports.

6 Apr 2012

Ohio AIDS advocates, patients protest against rationing of lifesaving HIV medicines

A group of Ohio AIDS advocates, patients and medical providers hosted a protest in Columbus today in conjunction with a public hearing held by the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and its Director, Theodore E. Wymyslo, M.D., on proposed rule changes that would restrict access to lifesaving AIDS drugs for low-income Ohioans based on medical criteria.

6 Apr 2012

Study: MLR rule would have translated into $2B in rebates to consumers

If the health law's requirement that insurers spend at least 80 percent of premiums on medical care had gone into effect in 2010, instead of a year later, private plans would have had to refund as much as $2 billion to consumers, either in rebates or reduced premiums, according to a study by the Commonwealth Fund, which supports the law.

6 Apr 2012

Web-based worksite health promotion program minimizes absenteeism

Workers participating in a "comprehensive" workplace promotion program had a one-fifth reduction in absenteeism during the first year, reports a study in the April Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

6 Apr 2012

Contraception, abortion, fetal care issues flare up in state legislatures

Women's health issues continue to roil politics in Texas, Mississippi and Nebraska.

6 Apr 2012

Labcon recommended for re-certification to ISO 9001

Labcon North America, the world's leading manufacturer of Earth Friendly laboratory disposables, announced today that it has been recommended for re-certification to the ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Standard.

6 Apr 2012

Administration budget plan for veterans' health care riles advocates

The budget proposal cuts defense spending in part by increasing health care cost sharing for retired service members. Also in the news, USA Today reports that the Department of Veterans Affairs is short on psychiatrists as demand for mental health care continues to increase.

6 Apr 2012

Questions emerge after Obama spars with the Supreme Court

Earlier this week, President Barack Obama made comments that "implicitly" warned the court against overturning the health law. Since then, defenders and critics have weighed in on his words and strategy.

6 Apr 2012

PBS NewsHour interviews developer of 'solar suitcase'

In this PBS NewsHour report, NewsHour correspondent Spencer Michels interviews obstetrician Laura Stachel about the "solar suitcase," a "a suitcase containing elements to produce and store solar energy," devised by Stachel with the aim of reducing maternal mortality rates in the developing world after "witnessing the consequences of power outages in Nigeria's health facilities."

6 Apr 2012