Health Highlights: June 24, 2009

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Air Pollution Increases Cancer Risk For Many Americans: EPA
Swine Flu Virus Likely Came From Asia: U.S. Officials
FDA Warns About Salmonella-Tainted Pistachios
Americans Now Have Higher Out-of-Pocket Costs: Report

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Air Pollution Increases Cancer Risk For Many Americans: EPA

Millions of Americans live in neighborhoods where high levels of toxic air pollutants greatly increase their risk of cancer, according to an Environmental Protection Agency report to be released Wednesday.

People in the nearly 600 neighborhoods have a more than 100 in 1 million risk of cancer, compared to the national average risk of 36 in 1 million.

"If we are in between 10 in 1 million and 100 in 1 million, we want to look more deeply at that. If the risk is greater than 100 in 1 million, we don't like that at all ... we want to investigate that risk and do something about it," Kelly Rimer, an environmental scientist with the EPA, told the Associated Press.

The highest cancer risk in the nation -- 1,200 in 1 million and 1,100 in 1 million -- are in parts of Los Angeles, Calif., and Madison County, Ill., according to the EPA. Two neighborhoods in Allegheny County, Pa., and one in Tuscaloosa, Ala., had the next highest rates of cancer risk from air toxins.

The lowest risk levels are in Coconino County, Ariz., and Lyon County, Nev., the EPA said. The lowest levels of toxic air pollution are in Kalawao County, Hawaii, and Golden Valley County, Mont., the AP reported.

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Swine Flu Virus Likely Came From Asia: U.S. Officials

The swine flu pandemic likely originated in pigs in Asia, not on factory farms in Mexico, and was brought to North America by an infected human, say U.S. agriculture officials.

They said there's no evidence that the new swine flu virus -- a combination of North American and Eurasian genes -- has ever circulated in North American pigs. However, there is proof that a closely related "sister virus" has circulated among pigs in Asia, The New York Times reported.

But the agriculture officials added there's no way to prove their theory, which has only sketchy data to support it. As the virus spreads and pigs are infected by humans, it becomes more difficult to determine the origin of the pandemic.

"To tell whether a pig is newly infected by a human or had the virus before the human epidemic began really can't be done," Dr. Kelly M. Lager, a U.S. Agriculture Department swine disease expert, told the Times.

Since the swine flu pandemic began, the popular assumption is that it originated in Mexico. The pandemic has now reached more than 90 countries, according to the World Health Organization.

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FDA Warns About Salmonella-Tainted Pistachios

Consumers should not eat certain brands of pistachio nuts because they may be contaminated with salmonella, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.

The California Prime Produce- and Orange County Orchards-brand pistachios were distributed to retail locations in airports and hotels across the United States. The pistachios are in clear 6-ounce flexible plastic Ziploc bags, with "Sell By Dates" of "7/30/09" and "8/30/09," United Press International reported.

Orca Distribution West Inc. of Anaheim, Calif., received and repackaged pistachios recalled by Setton Pistachios of Terra Bella Inc., which has recalled all of its pistachios because of possible salmonella contamination, the FDA said.

More than 660 products are affected by the Setton recall, UPI reported. The FDA has a complete list of products at www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/pistachiorecall/index.cfm.

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Americans Now Have Higher Out-of-Pocket Costs: Report

Out-of-pocket costs (including premiums) for American workers with employer-based health insurance increased 30 percent between 2001 and 2006, from an average of $2,827 to $3,744, according to a federal government report released Tuesday.

When premiums weren't included, the average cost increased from $1,260 to $1,522, according to Hidden Costs of Health Care: Why Americans Are Paying More but Getting Less.

The report also says that employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times higher than wage increases. In 2008, the average premium for an employer-based family plan was $12,680. That's nearly as much as the annual wage of a person working a full-time minimum wage job, the report said.

In 2004, about 20 percent of Americans with employer-based health insurance had a co-payment of more than $25, but that increased to one-third by 2008, according to the report.