Salmonella Outbreak at Subway Restaurants
Nearly 50 Subway restaurants in Illinois have been linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 97 people, Reuters reports. Twenty-six people have been hospitalized from the infection since the outbreak began in mid-May, but so far no deaths have been reported. The restaurant chain has stopped using onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce as a precaution, but the source of the outbreak has not yet been found, according to Reuters.
In October, U.S. News's January Payne wrote about how to avoid food-borne illnesses after the Center for Science in the Public Interest released its list of the top 10 riskiest foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. [Read more: Riskiest Foods: 3 Tips for Protecting Your Family From Illness.]
Summer Heat: A Threat to Diabetics
Hot temperatures are hard on people with diabetes, and many don't know how to take proper precautions against the heat, according to a new Mayo Clinic study. Researchers surveyed 152 diabetes patients and found that 20 percent were doing nothing to prevent heat-related illness in 100-degree weather, even though their condition puts them at higher risk of getting sick, HealthDay reports. "People with diabetes have an impaired ability to sweat," according to lead researcher Adrienne Nassar, "which predisposes them to heat-related illness, as do uncontrolled high blood sugars." And humidity can cause sickness at temperatures below 90 degrees.
Less than half of patients surveyed knew that heat can tamper with the effectiveness of their oral diabetes medicines or certain testing supplies. Some of those who did know said that they avoid the risk by not taking their supplies with them when they're outside in the heat, HealthDay reports. That's unsafe, says Nassar, since people are then unable to check their blood sugars while away from home, HealthDay reports.
Each day, more than 4,000 adults are diagnosed with the diabetes, and about 200 people die from it, U.S. News's January Payne wrote in November. Because diabetes affects roughly 24 million Americans—and can be life altering—it's important to educate yourself about the condition and what it means for your lifestyle. [Read more: 7 Things to Know if You've Received a Diabetes Diagnosis.]
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Study Finds Being Induced Could Raise Women's Chance of C-Section
Inducing labor may double a woman's chances of having a cesarean section, suggests a new study of approximately 8,000 women published in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Researchers found that 43.6 percent of participants were induced—mostly by doctor or patient choice—and 20 percent of C-sections were the result of being induced, HealthDay reports. The percentage of women who have had induced deliveries has more than doubled since 1990, according to Caroline Signore, who wrote a commentary on the study.
C-sections are also on the rise, which experts have attributed to the rise in induced labors, HealthDay reports. But C-sections aren't risk-free, and having one can boost a woman's chance of needing another in later deliveries. "Emerging evidence shows increasing risk with increasing cesarean deliveries," said study author Deborah Ehrenthal, director of women's health programs at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, Del. "Preventing the primary C-section can stop that cascade."
According to a recent assessment from a National Institutes of Health panel, pregnant women should once again be given the option of having a vaginal birth after a cesarean, U.S. News's Deborah Kotz wrote in March. VBACs are currently chosen less than 10 percent of the time, down from a rate of 28 percent in 1996. Obstetricians began to change their practices after a handful of studies found that women who had a VBAC had slightly higher risks of uterine rupture, which in 6 percent of cases results in the baby's death. [Read more: Vaginal Birth After C-Section: Giving Women the Option.]
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