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(CIDRAP News) – The United States had 3,630 reported human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) disease in 2007, indicating that the incidence has stayed about the same for the past 4 years, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today released a 6-month status report on its progress in implementing a food safety plan launched in November in response to high-profile contamination incidents involving domestic and imported foods over the past few years.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said today that it was activating an emergency network of laboratories to help out in the quest to determine if other food items commonly served with fresh tomatoes could be the source of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak that has now grown to 869 confirmed cases.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced yesterday that a Nebraska company has recalled about 530,000 pounds of beef after the company's products were implicated in an Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak that has sickened 35 people in Michigan and Ohio.

(CIDRAP News) – Government officials in Hong Kong, in an effort to stem to spread of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, recently followed through with their proposal to ban live poultry from overnight stays in market stalls and retail outlets.

Editor's Note: CIDRAP's Public Health Practices online database showcases expert-reviewed practices, including useful tools to help others. This article is one of a series exploring the development of these practices. We hope that describing the process and context of these practices enhances pandemic planning and response.

(CIDRAP News) – Frustrated federal officials today reported they were still hunting for a major break in their investigation of a nationwide Salmonella outbreak thought to be caused by tomatoes, and for the first time they hinted that another type of produce might be responsible for the illnesses, which have now risen to 810 confirmed cases.

(CIDRAP News) – With an endorsement from US health officials, Roche, maker of the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu), today unveiled a program to encourage more businesses to stockpile the drug to protect employees in case of an influenza pandemic.

(CIDRAP News) – Eighty-three children in the United States died of influenza during the past flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in a report confirming previous indications that the season was a relatively rough one.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal and state officials yesterday reported an Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak that has sickened at least 24 patients in Michigan and Ohio, and state officials say their investigations are pointing to ground beef as the likely source.

(CIDRAP News) – The number of cases confirmed in a nationwide Salmonella outbreak linked to certain types of fresh tomatoes swelled to 613 over the past 3 days, as federal officials ruled out several Mexican states in an investigation that has focused on Mexico and parts of Florida as possible sources of the contaminated produce.

(CIDRAP News) – Only about 36% of people suffering from asthma received an influenza shot in the 2005-06 flu season, despite their increased risk for flu complications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

(CIDRAP News) – The world is far from being well prepared for an influenza pandemic, leading national and international health officials warned at a meeting in Malaysia last week.

As the H5N1 avian influenza virus continues to thrive in birds, there is no vaccine that can provide sure protection if it evolves into a pandemic strain, and governments are paying less attention to the threat, officials said.

(CIDRAP News) – A livestock official in Pakistan today confirmed that the H5N1 avian influenza virus has struck again in the country's North-West Frontier province, killing thousands of chickens at a commercial farm.

Ibrahim Kahn, a livestock department chief in Swabi district, where the outbreak occurred, said confirmatory tests were performed at a government laboratory in Islamabad, according to a report today from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

(CIDRAP News) – Lax biosecurity measures around poultry in some countries could lead to an increasing number of H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks that could exacerbate the global food crisis, an official from the United Nations Food and AgricultureOrganization (FAO) said at an international infectious disease conference in Malaysia today.

(CIDRAP News) – Cases identified in a national Salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes jumped to 552 today as the hunt for the contamination source narrowed to "certain farms" in Florida and Mexico and their distribution chains, US officials announced.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that Indonesia has officially notified it of two recent fatal human cases of H5N1 avian influenza that were reported previously by the news media.

(CIDRAP News) – The number of patients sickened in a Salmonella outbreak linked to tomatoes has grown by 106 more cases, a sign that states have ramped up their surveillance in response to the event, federal food safety officials said at news conference yesterday.

(CIDRAP News) – David Nabarro, influenza coordinator for the United Nations (UN), said during a press conference yesterday that the world is better prepared to respond to an influenza pandemic, but he added that continuing outbreaks in some countries are a reminder that a major threat remains.

(CIDRAP News) – The international coalition of health agencies dedicated to ending polio yesterday declared a "final push" toward the long-delayed goal of eradicating the disease. But its members coupled the announcement with a plea for millions of dollars in donations to fill shortfalls, and with an admission that the 20-year-old campaign continues to face stubborn challenges.