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80 Sick, 12 in ICU After Shigella Outbreak at California Restaurant

California health officials are investigating a bacterial outbreak after at least 80 people were sickened, sending 12 of them to the intensive care unit at a hospital. An outbreak of shigella occurred at the Mariscos San Juan Restaurant on 4th Street in San Jose, California, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department said Tuesday. Individuals started to report symptoms including fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea last Saturday, health officials said.

JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley pay most in $1.9 billion swaps price-fixing settlement

By Nate Raymond (Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase & Co, Morgan Stanley and Barclays Plc will pay over half of a more than $1.86 billion settlement resolving investor claims they conspired to fix prices and limit competition in the market for credit default swaps, according to a court filing. Details of the settlement's breakdown with those and nine other banks were disclosed in papers filed late on Friday, in federal court in Manhattan, a month after the proposed deal was first announced. …

California adopts tough rules for antibiotic use in farm animals

By Lisa Baertlein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – California Governor Jerry Brown on Saturday signed a bill that sets the strictest government standards in the United States for the use of antibiotics in livestock production. The move from California, known for its leadership on public health and environmental issues, comes amid growing concern that the overuse of such drugs is contributing to rising numbers of life-threatening human infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as “superbugs.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 2 million people in this country are infected with drug resistant bacteria each year and that 23,000 die as a direct result. “This puts California at the forefront of U.S. efforts to address the overuse of antibiotics in meat production,” said Avinash Kar, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Our blind spots can be shrunk with training: study

While the smudge in our visual field won't change in size, the blind spot may be able to be minimized, according to a recent study with implications for age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness. “We did not confidently expect to see much reduction in functional blindness, as you can never develop photosensitivity within the blind spot itself,” says Paul Miller of The University of Queensland in Australia.

Kabul bomb targets foreign contractors, kills mostly Afghans

A car bomb targeting a convoy carrying civilian NATO contractors killed 12 people outside a Kabul hospital on Saturday, part of a wave of attacks in the capital since news broke last month of the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar. “Twelve dead bodies and 66 wounded people were taken to several Kabul hospitals,” health official Kabir Amiry said. “Some were in a bad condition.” In a statement the Taliban denied it was behind the attack.

New York cooling towers to be tested as Legionnaires’ deaths hit 10

Owners of cooling towers have 14 days to comply with the order, which comes as 100 people have been reported sick with the disease, according to city health department figures. The disease, a severe kind of pneumonia, is contracted by breathing in mist from cooling towers containing the bacteria Legionella. The incubation period for Legionnaires’ disease is 10 days.

China’s foreign minister to visit Ebola-affected countries

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi leaves this week on a visit to three of the African nations hardest hit by an outbreak of the Ebola virus, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. Ebola has killed more than 11,200 people in West Africa since it broke out in December 2013. China, Africa's biggest trading partner, has sent hundreds of medical workers to Africa and contributed aid of more than $120 million to the anti-Ebola effort, after initially facing criticism for not doing enough.

Ahead of Alzheimer’s meeting, researchers seize on signs of progress

By Bill Berkrot and Ransdell Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) – After decades of Alzheimer’s research that led to dead ends, including 123 drugs that failed, top researchers in the field say they are far more confident now of producing an effective treatment. New experimental drugs from Eli Lilly and Co and Biogen have shown promise in slowing down the progression of the mind-wasting disease, attracting the attention of investors and patients. “The recurring platitude, which has been going on forever is ‘gee we’re about five years away from a really effective treatment,'” said Steven Ferris, who directs the Alzheimer’s clinical trials program at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York.

Alaska governor says will accept federal funds to expand Medicaid

By Steve Quinn JUNEAU, Alaska (Reuters) – Alaska’s governor said on Thursday he would use his executive powers to expand the state’s Medicaid health program for the poor, in a bid to sidestep political opponents and bring coverage to more than 20,000 uninsured residents the first year. Governor Bill Walker said Alaska would accept $146 million in federal funds made available under President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare reform law, citing nearly 30 other states that have expanded Medicaid coverage. “(They) have already made the commonsense decision to accept Medicaid expansion.