Archive for the ‘bacteria’ Category

WHO says swine flu pandemic might infect 2 billion

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

The World Health Organization reported today that should the current North American swine flu outbreak become a pandemic, it might affect a third of the world’s population. WHO’s Keiji Fukuda, an influenza expert, said that while there was no predicting at this point what will actually happen, a pandemic would probably infect about 2 billion people. To become a pandemic and thereby move the WHO’s health alert status for the disease outbreak to level 6—the top level—it would have to spread to another region of the world. (more…)

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Meningitis death toll tops 2,000

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

While swine flu captures most of the health-related headlines in the U.S., most Americans are probably not aware that a meningitis outbreak in Nigeria has already claimed over 2,000 lives. (more…)

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meanwhile, U.S. snack food contains salmonella

Friday, June 29th, 2007

But the FDA, meanwhile, is battling food contamination closer to home. Robert’s American Gourmet (Sea Cliff, N.Y.) is recalling the snack food Veggie Booty after the FDA linked the snack to salmonellosis outbreaks in 17 states. So far, 51 people have been infected, mostly children.

Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include fever, nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. The infection is especially troublesome among children, the aged, and those with weakened immune systems, who have been known to die from the effects of salmonella.

Although Robert’s American Gourmet is still saying that the link between the salmonellosis and the snack food is unproven and circumstantial, an FDA source states unequivocally that “an ongoing investigation has identified Veggie Booty as the source of a multi-state outbreak of salmonellosis.”

The ongoing investigation began in March.

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