HEALTH & SCIENCE
28
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
US probes egg recall amid calls for stringent rules 550 million eggs in 22 states recalled WASHINGTON: US regulators on Monday were still investigating the massive salmonella outbreak that sparked a recall of more than a half billion eggs, while lawmakers launched their own probes and consumer advocates urged passage of a law to give food regulators more power. The US Food and Drug
Administration said it still had not determined the cause of the outbreak but had found no evidence of a problem beyond two large Iowa egg producers. Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms recalled 550 million eggs last week after they were linked to illnesses around the country. FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg called on Congress to pass the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act which would expand FDA’s authority over recalls and tracing tainted food back to its sources. “It has been a long-standing gap in FDA’s authority,” Hamburg said, noting that the recalls were voluntary because the FDA cannot compel product recalls. The egg recalls came weeks after a new FDA rule took effect requiring large-scale producers to practice better safety and to test in the poultry house for salmonella bacteria. Had the rule existed earlier, it may have sent the signals of possible contamination soon enough to prevent the spread, Hamburg said, which would have eliminated the need for recalls. “We believe that had these new rules been in place at an earlier time, it would have very likely enabled us to identify the problems on this farm before this kind of outbreak occurred,” she told reporters. The US advocacy group Consumers Union said the country needs stricter food safety laws. “Over the last several years we have seen illnesses and deaths from eating cookie dough, peanut butter and spinach,” Consumers Union said in a statement. “The pending Senate food safety bill would put FDA in the business of preventing outbreaks, rather than trying to deal with NEW YORK: Forget about experiences in the airport to be Prime Tavern, a steakhouse by JetBlue’s JFK terminal and is them after people get sick.” greasy french fries, soggy pizza or “as smooth as what they experi- Michael Lomonaco, executive popular there. “There’s nothing US lawmakers sought docuthat sandwich that’s been sitting ence in the air.” “People are look- chef of the Porter House in fancy about it,” Hanson said. “It’ll ments from the FDA and the out for hours. Filet mignon, ing for things in the airport other Manhattan and formerly of the just be a little more variety for farms to launch their own crispy duck confit and crab cakes than a fast-food environment,” World Trade Center’s Windows people.” Michael Coury, the conprobes. are taking off at the city’s main Grimmett said. Airports across on the World. The lack of food cept chef for OTG Management Leaders of the House domestic airport. Delta Air Lines the country have already made options at LaGuardia, one of the who recruited the chefs at JFK Energy and Commerce is putting 13 new restaurants, the switch to classier food options busiest US airports, disappointed and LaGuardia, said he is trying to Committee, Representatives bars and cafes in its LaGuardia for passengers. There’s a seafood travelers, Lomonaco said. “The break the mold of “horrible” food Henry Waxman and Bart Airport terminal by next summer, restaurant at San Francisco terminal really needed some new in airports. “The whole point of Stupak, wrote to the farm and opened the first four on International Airport, an Asian restaurant concepts,” he said. “It travel is that you’re looking foradministrators, seeking details Saturday. With travelers waiting bistro in Tucson International was long overdue for an over- ward to going somewhere,” of salmonella contamination. longer because of more extensive Airport. Ike’s, a local favorite in haul.” Restaurant standards such Coury said. “Why can’t that start Chairwoman of the House security checks and flight delays, Minnesota, offers sit-down ser- as chopped salad, chicken wings as soon as you get to the airport FDA oversight panel Rosa airports across the United States vice at Minneapolis-St Paul and burgers are available, but now because you’re going to have DeLauro questioned FDA’s so are creamed spinach, jumbo great food?” Consumer expert are swapping out fast-food joints International Airport. regulation of Wright County Delta’s remake of the shrimp cocktail and New York Joe Brancatelli, a columnist for for sit-down restaurants. It’s part Egg farm. “The extent of the of a trend of airlines serving their LaGuardia terminal will be similar strip steak, for about the same the business travelers’ website outbreak, combined with the customers before they board to what JetBlue Airways Corp did prices as on the Porter House joesentme.com, said the changes poor regulatory compliance their flights, said air industry at Kennedy International Airport menu. Next is the food court, are part of an effort to make dinrecord of this egg producer, expert Terry Trippler, owner of in 2008, but it will have some offering fresh burgers for $6 by ing at LaGuardia similar to dining leads to questions about what rulestoknow.com, a website dedi- extra food options. Delta hired Pat LaFrieda, the meat purveyor in New York City. could have been done to pre“What you want is a sense that cated to airline rules. “The more the company that redid JetBlue’s who created burgers for Shake vent it,” DeLauro wrote in a conveniences that are available JFK terminal, OTG Management, Shack, and pizza from the your airport terminal is indistinletter to the federal regulators. before they board the aircraft, the to pick chefs to create menus and DeMarco family, which owns the guishable from your midtown The salmonella bacteria can happier they’re going to be when train kitchen staffs at LaGuardia. popular Brooklyn pizza joint (Manhattan),” Brancatelli said. cause fever, diarrhea, vomiting they board the aircraft,” Trippler Delta Air Lines Inc wouldn’t say DiFara’s. (A slice of pizza is $5 Though Brancatelli likes the new and abdominal pain and somefood offerings, he said it’s just said of airline passengers. “And what it costs to open its restau- there, too.) times more serious illness or As passengers walk down the another way for airlines, airports you can make some money with a rants at LaGuardia. The airline death. There have been will get a portion of restaurant corridor to their gates, a French and vendors to make more nice restaurant, too.” almost 2,000 cases of salmoDelta’s senior vice president revenues, Grimmett said, but she bistro offers roasted beets, lob- money. “You can’t charge somenella-related illnesses around ster court bouillon and creme one $20 for a doughnut, but you for New York, Gail Grimmett, didn’t say how much. the country since May 1, hunThe first thing passengers will brulee. One of the bistro’s chefs, can for a steak,” he said. said that the Atlanta-based airline dreds of which have been is proud of its on-board service see when they pass through Lee Hanson, said a smaller ver- Lomonaco’s steaks will cost more linked to eggs from Hillandale but that customers want their Delta’s LaGuardia terminal is sion of the bistro exists at than $40. —AP Farms and Wright County Eggs. “We don’t have any evidence that other farms are involved in this outbreak,” Hamburg told reporters. WASHINGTON: A US government study the government has additional research cific type, named XMRV, in the blood of “However, this is a continuous has uncovered a family of mouse viruses in under way to determine whether the link is two-thirds of the 101 chronic fatigue investigation and we will obvipatients they tested. Several other studies, some people with chronic fatigue syndrome, real. ously follow the evidence Meanwhile, a group of French and including one from the Centers for Disease raising still more questions about whether wherever it takes us.” FDA an infection may play a role in the compli- Canadian scientists said it is time to test Control and Prevention, failed to find XMRV said it may publish the first cated illness. The study released Monday whether antiviral medications like those virus in patients, making researchers wonfindings of its probe later this does not prove that having any of the virus- used against HIV might treat at least some der if this might be a false alarm. week. Monday’s study, published in es causes harm, stressed co-author Dr people with chronic fatigue. The virus conCommon sources of salmoHarvey Alter of the National Institutes of nection first made headlines last fall when Proceedings of the National Academy of nella contamination are Health. But it strengthens suspicions, and Nevada researchers reported finding a spe- Sciences, thickens the plot. This time, NIH rodents, infected chicks, taintand US Food and Drug Administration scied seed or lax safety practices entists examined the blood of 37 chronic at pullet-rearing facilities. fatigue patients and again did not find FDA has eliminated chicks as XMRV but instead found a group of closely a possible source because they related bugs named MLV-related viruses in came from a certified salmo86 percent of the cases. Testing of 44 nella-free hatchery in healthy blood donors, in contrast, found eviMinnesota, said Jeff Farrar, dence of those viruses in nearly 7 percent. FDA’s associate commissioner Various viruses have been linked to chronic for food protection. fatigue over the years only to to be ruled out The recalled eggs were as potential culprits in the mysterious illsold under the brand names ness thought to afflict about 1 million Sunny Farms, Hillandale Americans. It is characterized by at least six Farms, Sunny Meadow, months of severe fatigue, impaired memory Wholesome Farms and West and other symptoms, but there is no test for Creek, Lucerne, Albertson, it and no specific treatment. Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, These MLV, or “murine leukemia-relatBoomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm ed viruses,” are known to cause some canFresh, Shoreland, Lund, cers in mice, and the XMRV relative has Dutch Farms, Kemps, James been found in some human prostate tumors, Farms, Glenview, Pacific too. But there is no easy way to test for it, Coast, Alta Dena Dairy, meaning studies of a link at this point must Driftwood Dairy, Hidden Villa be in research labs, not doctors’ offices, Ranch, Challenge Dairy, and FDA and NIH researchers said Monday. No Country Eggs. Kroger Co and one knows how people become infected, but Supervalu Inc said several of Alter said a major study is under way to see their California stores have if evidence exists of transmission through pulled eggs from shelves, blood. Federal regulations require that including Ralphs, Food 4 Less blood donors be in good health, said FDA’s and Albertsons. —Reuters Dr Hira Nakhasi. —AP
NYC airport trades in fast food for sit-down service
Mouse virus link to chronic fatigue studied
ORLANDO: In this file photo, three killer whales swim in tanks at the SeaWorld park. —AP
SeaWorld penalized for whale trainer’s death ORLANDO: The federal job safety agency fined SeaWorld Orlando $75,000 on Monday for three violations uncovered while investigating the February death of a trainer who was grabbed by a killer whale and dragged underwater. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration categorized the most serious violation as “willful, “ or showing indifference or intentional disregard for employee safety. That citation, carrying a $70,000 penalty, was for exposing workers to drowning hazards when interacting with killer whales. The agency proposes not allowing trainers to have any physical contact with Tilikum, the killer whale responsible for trainer Dawn Brancheau’s death in February, unless protected by a physical barrier. The OSHA report described Tilikum as having “known aggressive tendencies.” The sixton whale was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer in 1991 after the woman lost her balance and fell in the pool at Sealand of the Pacific near Victoria, British Columbia. Tilikum also was also involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld Orlando security was found draped over him. Sea World trainers were forbidden from getting in the water with Tilikum because of the previous deaths. But the killer whale still managed to grab Brancheau’s long hair as she lay on her stomach on a cement slab in three inches of water. The cause of death was drowning and traumatic injuries. The OSHA report also suggests that trainers not work with other killer whales at the park, either in the water or out of water, unless they are protected by a barrier, deck or oxygensupply system underwater.
“SeaWorld trainers had an extensive history of unexpected and potentially dangerous incidents involving killer whales at its various facilities, including its location in Orlando,” OSHA said in a statement released with the report. The second citation, deemed serious, was for failing to install a stairway railing system beside the stage in Shamu Stadium. That citation carried a $5,000 penalty. The third citation was considered “other-than-serious” and was for failing to have weather-protected electrical receptacles at the stadium. That citation didn’t have a penalty. SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs said the park will contest the citation. “SeaWorld disagrees with the unfounded allegations made by OSHA,” Jacobs said in a statement. Meanwhile, a former director of health and safety at SeaWorld Orlando went public Monday with allegations that SeaWorld tried to obstruct the investigation by blocking OSHA investigators from coming to the property and refusing to give the agency some documents, charges the theme park denies. Linda Simons, who was fired in April after only two months on the job, has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against SeaWorld with OSHA. “SeaWorld did not want to cooperate at all,” Simons said in a telephone interview. “They really felt that if the information was going to get out to the public, it would hurt their business.” SeaWorld cooperated fully with OSHA, said Jacobs, who accused Simons of threatening the theme park with negative publicity if she didn’t get a payment from the company. Simons’ attorney, Maurice Arcadier, said his client never tried to extort SeaWorld but was seeking reinstatement and back pay. —AP
SANTA CRUZ: After being rescued, a baby pink dolphin is taken care by biologists at the Pailas river, Monday, Aug 23, 2010. Biologists and environmental activists are trying to rescue dolphins trapped in early July in the Pailas river, a tributary of the Rio Grande River, north of the city of Santa Cruz, when drought caused water levels to drop. —AP
Hypnosis can help ease fear of dentist visits STUTTGART: Many people dread dentist visits and feel a shiver go down their spine just thinking about the sound of the drill. They are afraid of pain and insist on anesthesia, which often has unpleasant side effects such as a swollen cheek and strong pain afterwards, however. Some patients cannot tolerate the anesthetic. Dental treatment under hypnosis is a possible alternative in such cases. A fearful patient unconsciously transmits his or her tension to the dentist, senses the dentist’s growing tension and reacts by becoming even tenser, according to the German Society of Dental Hypnosis (DGZH). The result, it said, is a vicious circle detrimental to the patient, the dentist and the treatment itself. There are patients with a pronounced dental phobia, a hypersensitive gag reflex or an allergy to local anesthetics. Often they can be treated only under general anesthesia, the DGZH said. Or they can allow themselves to be hypnotized. As the DGZH describes it, the aim of dental hypnosis is to put the patient in a relaxed “trance state” for the procedure.
“It’s a state of relaxation in which the patient’s attention isn’t directed outward, but rather inward - the patient shuts down a little, as it were,” noted Stephan Eitner, a dentist and president of the German Society of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy (DGH). In this relaxed state, he said, external perception is “switched off.” The patient blocks out unpleasant sensations during the dental procedure and feels good, which the DGZH said manifested itself physically in a calm heart rate, low blood pressure, deep abdominal respiration and relaxed muscles. The hypnotic state can be achieved by suggestion, induced relaxation - with the help of hypnosis CDs underlaid with relaxing music, for example - as well as by distraction, the DGZH said. “Concentration is the first thing we do,” Eitner remarked. The dentist speaks with the patient in a way that diverts the patient’s thoughts from anxieties and focuses them inward, he said, comparing the mental state with “daydreaming.” Eitner said fears of suddenly awakening from hypnosis during
the dental procedure and feeling intense pain were groundless. “We work with a ‘net’ and ‘double bottom,’” he said. To be on the safe side, he explained, hypnotized patients are also given a local anaesthetic if they tolerate it. Thanks to the hypnosis, they need only about a quarter of the usual dosage to feel no pain, he said. Eitner said dental hypnosis was not performed on “patients with a history of mental illness.” People who either are or were in psychotherapy are unacceptable, he said, because their behavior under hypnosis is unpredictable. Georg Duenzl, a dentist and executive board member of the Munich- based Milton Erickson Society for Clinical Hypnosis (MEG), said interest in hypnosis treatments was generally high, although there are no precise figures for Germany. Duenzl said he personally performed one or two formal hypnosis treatments a week in his own dental practice. But he added that he employed elements of hypnosis in every treatment - by calming his patients and trying to get them to picture relaxing images. —dpa