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Canadian E coli illnesses spark walnut recallCanada's food safety agency yesterday announced that a Quebec company has recalled its packaged and bulk walnuts, imported from the United States, because they are suspected in an Escherichia coli O157:H7 outbreak in the country's eastern provinces. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said recalled walnuts, distributed by Amira Enterprises, Inc., carry the Amira, Tia, and Merit Selection brand names.

(CIDRAP News) – Jennie-O Turkey Store has recalled certain shipments of its ground turkey burgers after Salmonella illness investigations in three states found links to the product, which is now thought to have sickened 12 people in 10 states, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in an Apr 1 notice.

(CIDRAP News) – Federal health officials today released a lengthy set of new guidelines for preventing bloodstream infections in patients with intravenous catheters, a problem that's estimated to cost the nation billions of dollars a year.

Apr 1, 2011

(CIDRAP News) – Flu activity in the United States continues to tail off, though newly reported pediatric deaths were twice as high as the week before, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

The percentage of deaths from pneumonia and flu, however, remained above the epidemic level, the agency said.

(CIDRAP News) – Electronic, non-touch faucets are being used in many healthcare facilities to save water and improve hand hygiene, but the faucets may actually increase the risk of infections for some patients, according to research findings released by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) today.

(CIDRAP News) – The US government today announced the award of a $231 million, 5-year contract to an Australian company for advanced development of a single-dose, long-acting influenza drug in the neuraminidase inhibitor class.

The contract was awarded to Biota Scientific Management Pty, Ltd., of Melbourne, according to the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Mar 30, 2011

(CIDRAP News) – In the wake of a massive egg recall in August 2010, an investigation by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) into the role of its egg graders recently found that communication breakdowns between producers, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the egg graders led to problems in another egg recall 3 months later.

(CIDRAP News) – Egypt's health ministry has announced three more H5N1 avian influenza infections, including a 32-year-old man who died, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today.

The three new illnesses and death push Egypt's H5N1 burden so far this year to 14 cases, which include 5 deaths. The WHO said investigations into all three illnesses suggest that the patients had been exposed to sick and dead poultry.

Mar 29, 2011

(CIDRAP News) – North Carolina health officials have reported a number of influenza B isolates with reduced sensitivity to oseltamivir (Tamiflu), a rare finding, but they say antivirals remain effective and there is no reason for clinicians to change their prescribing practices.

(CIDRAP News) – The independent committee reviewing the World Health Organization's (WHO's) performance during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic today at a meeting in Geneva received feedback from countries and organizations on its preliminary report, which was released Mar 10 and generally defended the WHO's actions. The feed back mostly consisted of questions and clarifications.

Mar 28, 2011

Mar 25, 2011