Health Buzz: Virus Sickens Famed Restaurant’s Patrons and Other Health News

Contaminated Shellfish May Have Sickened Fat Duck's Diners

Britain's Health Protection Agency says nearly 530 people came down with norovirus after eating at one of its most famous restaurants, the Associated Press reports. The stomach virus is known to strike cruise ship passengers and other people living in close quarters, causing nausea and diarrhea, but the agency said in a report Thursday that this outbreak—which happened in February—looks to have been caused by contaminated shellfish. Several staff members of the Fat Duck were also infected with the virus, according to the AP. The outbreak is one of the largest associated with a restaurant in medical literature, an agency spokeswoman said.

Here are 3 ways to beat a norovirus outbreak along with ways to recognize symptoms of food poisoning.

Neurofeedback: An Alternative ADHD Treatment That Retrains the Brain?

A controversial treatment for overcoming attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is getting new respect, according to a new U.S. News report. Called neurofeedback therapy, it supposedly retrains the brain to produce electrical patterns associated with calm and focus.

Putting neurofeedback to use on children with attention deficits has logical appeal. Studies suggest that in ADHD, the brain generates insufficient beta waves, which are associated with focus and attention, and an overabundance of lower-frequency theta waves, produced during periods of daydreaming or drowsiness. While the technique is costly, time-consuming, and far from proven, its promise is tantalizing. Advocates claim that neurofeedback brings permanent ADHD cures, a seemingly magical alternative to years of medication. Read more.

Looking for other ways to manage ADHD without medicine? Read about behavioral therapy interventions used to treat attention deficit disorder. Also, consider these 9 drug-free approaches to managing ADHD.

4 Flu Vaccine Doses for Kids This Fall—but Where and When?

This may go down in history as the most confusing flu season ever, U.S. News contributor Nancy Shute writes. Parents are being told that almost all children, from 6-month-old babies up to 18-year-olds, should be vaccinated against seasonal flu and H1N1. Since a child who has never had a flu shot should have two doses, that means four doses of vaccine for some kids, should the protection against H1N1 become available, Shute writes.

The "where and how to vaccinate" question is confusing because the two vaccines will be delivered in different tracks. Seasonal flu vaccine is being offered through doctors' offices, hospitals, and retail clinics, as usual. But the H1N1 vaccine, if it passes clinical safety trials now underway and is offered later this fall, will be distributed by state health departments, Shute writes. Some states will offer both seasonal and H1N1 vaccines in schools. Some will provide only seasonal flu doses, some only H1N1. Some states will not have in-school vaccinations at all. Read more.

Learn how researchers are developing a universal flu vaccine to protect against different strains of flu, including H1N1. And find out more about how flu vaccinations will work this fall.

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