FDA investigates papaya in new salmonella outbreak

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health regulators on Monday advised people not to eat papaya from Texas distributor Agromod Produce as they investigate a possible link to a salmonella outbreak in 23 U.S. states. The outbreak of Salmonella Agona has resulted in 97 reported cases of illness across the country, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.

Children abandoned on east Africa's "roads of death"

ROME (Reuters) - Desperate Somali mothers are abandoning their dying children by the roadside as they travel to overwhelmed emergency food centers in drought-hit eastern Africa, U.N. aid officials said Monday. Josette Sheeran, executive director of the United Nations World Food Program, told a conference in Rome that a combination of natural disaster and regional conflict was affecting more than 12 million people.

What's the best exercise for heart health?

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A combination of weight training and aerobic exercise might be the best prescription for overweight people at risk for diabetes and heart disease, a new study suggests. People doing only aerobic exercise dropped weight and inches off their waistlines -- so an aerobic-only program is also a good (and less time-consuming) option, researchers said. Those in the study who just lifted weights saw very little benefit in terms of heart health, although they did gain strength.

Breast cancer more lethal in blacks, reason unknown

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It is still a mystery why black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than whites, according to a new study that shows the racial disparity can't be chalked up to obesity differences. As a group, black women in the U.S. tend to be heavier than whites and researchers had thought that might explain why only 78 percent survive five years after diagnosis, compared to 90 percent of white women.

Crossing streets, kids with ADHD may misjudge risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children with ADHD are more likely than their peers to cross the street when cars are dangerously close, according to a study published Monday. The findings, researchers say, may help explain why children with the disorder have a higher-than-average risk of being hit by a car.

Antibiotics beat cranberries to prevent UTIs: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Antibiotics were better than cranberry capsules at preventing urinary tract infections in a new study of women in the Netherlands who suffered from recurring infections. Women taking the drugs had fewer UTIs over the next year than those taking cranberry capsules, but they also built up resistance to the antibiotics - meaning that their bodies might not respond to the drugs if they needed them to treat another infection.

Canada to crack down on cadmium in kids' jewelry

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian government said on Monday it plans to restrict the use of cadmium in children's jewelry, all but banning the toxic metal. Guidelines proposed by the Health Department would limit the total concentration of cadmium in to 0.013 percent, a level the government says would protect children who suck on or accidentally swallow the jewelry items.