Don’t even think about eating a pistachio right now. And that goes for pistachio ice cream, pistachio candy and anything else that contains the tasty little nuts. The U.S. Food and Drug Association says to wait until a report comes back as to whether the treat is responsible for the recent spread of salmonella. Read more.

Too few know about pre-diabetes. Too many American adults are aware of “pre-diabetes” and not enough take action to reduce their risk, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Thursday. People with pre-diabetes – a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes – are at increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke. But lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise can prevent or delay development of diabetes and its complications, the CDC says. More than 25 percent of Americans are pre-diabetic, according to the CDC. But only 4 percent of adults had ever been told they had the condition, according to the agency’s 2006 study of about 24,000 adults who took part in the 2006 U.S. National Health Interview Survey. Of the 984 people in the study who’d been told they had pre-diabetes, 64.4 percent were told they had borderline diabetes; 38.3 percent were told they had high blood sugar; 33.7 percent were told they had pre-diabetes itself; 15.5 percent were told they had impaired glucose tolerance; and 15. 2 percent were told they had impaired fasting glucose. In addition, 43.3 percent were told they had two or more of the five conditions that indicate pre-diabetes. But, it’s not too late to turn those numbers around, experts said. “An important opportunity exists to reduce the preventable burden of diabetes and its complications by increasing awareness of pre-diabetes among those who have the condition, and encouraging the adoption of healthier lifestyles and risk reduction activities among all U.S. adults,” the researchers wrote in a summary of their study. The study was published in this week’s issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a CDC journal. For more on how to curb diabetes, see “Standing Up To Diabetes.” at BET.com.

Salmonella outbreak claims more victims. Salmonella poisoning tied to contaminated dog food sickens eight more people, U.S. health officials said Thursday. The outbreak, which started in 2006, marks the first time that dry dog food has been confirmed as a source of the bacterial infection in people. As of Oct. 31, 79 cases of salmonella Schwarzengrund had been reported in 21 states. Most of the cases involved children 2 years old and younger, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We have been following an outbreak of illness due to a specific strain of salmonella. And in 2007, we linked those human illnesses with contaminated pet food produced at one Pennsylvania pet food plant,” said report co-author Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh, a CDC epidemiologist. “In 2008, we have identified eight additional cases.” The dog food has been traced to a Mars Petcare U.S. plant in Everson, Pa., reports HealthDay.com. On Sept. 12, the company announced a recall of approximately 23,109 tons of dry dog and cat food sold under 105 brand names. The plant is now closed, the CDC said in the Nov. 7 issue of its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Despite the recall and the plant closing, Barton Behravesh said the threat of more infections exists. “The issue is that since dry pet food has a one-year shelf life, it is possible that contaminated products from even our 2007 recall could still be in the homes of ill persons and could lead to additional illness,” she said. The cases may be linked to dog food sold after the plant was closed for cleaning and reopened. The plant has since shut down. Young children are particularly vulnerable, because they’re more likely to get sick from small doses of salmonella, Barton Behravesh said. The primary cause of infection was feeding a pet in the kitchen, she said. People can take a few simple steps to protect themselves from salmonella infection from pet food, Imperato said. “These include regular washing of pet feeding bowls to prevent bacterial growth; the thorough washing of hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds after handling dry pet foods, including pet treats; and scrupulously avoiding contact between dry pet foods and foods consumed by humans and food preparation surfaces and utensils,” said Dr. Pascal James Imperato, dean and Distinguished Service Professor of the Graduate Program in Public Health at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

 Reading could help overweight children. Reading a secret motivational message about losing weight could possibly help overweight young girls lose weight just a tad, a new study show.  Duke University researchers found that obese girls who read a book featuring a weight-management storyline were slightly more likely to control their weight than two comparison groups, HealthDay is reporting. The research is the first “to show a relationship between reading and making positive, healthy lifestyle changes,” said study author Alexandra C. Russell, a fourth-year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine. The findings were presented Oct. 4 at the Obesity Society’s annual meeting, in Phoenix. According to federal statistics, 16 percent of Americans between 6 and 19 years old are either obese or overweight. “Childhood obesity is becoming an epidemic problem in this country,” Russell said. “We need to find ways to appeal to a large population in an effective way.” In the study, the researchers assigned 31 severely overweight girls in a weight-management program to read a book called “Lake Rescue,” part of a series called Beacon Street Girls. The girls were all 9 to 13 years old. The girls who read “Lake Rescue? improved their fitness level by about 7 percent. “The book helped,” she said. “It either helped them stay at the same weight while they were growing or even helped them lose their weight.”

Obama, McCain take different approaches to health care reform.  
Vital Signs: Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama have laid out very different plans for how they’d fix the health care system, according to the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution’s estimates. Which one covers the most people, and when will the candidates actually provide details? Read more at Vital Signs.

Salmonella outbreak over, FDA says. U.S. health officials declared Thursday that the nationwide salmonella outbreak has ended and lifted a consumer advisory against eating raw jalapeno and serrano peppers grown in Mexico, reports HealthDay news. “Based on the available information and reports, it appears that this outbreak is over,” Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s division of foodborne, bacterial and mycotic diseases, said during a teleconference. The CDC’s announcement was based on the falling number of new cases since early July, Tauxe said. “By early August, the number of cases was down to the number of cases we would expect to see anyway in the absence of a major outbreak. There are some cases of this infection that occur every year,” he added.

African American Council On Liver Awareness meets In Washington D.C.
Concerns over the increasing number of hepatitis C cases in the past four months recently brought together African Americans in the fields of medicine, social work and advocacy to the nation’s capitol to discuss its implications in their community. “As African Americans are not regularly sought out for clinical trials, this makes finding the right treatment more difficult,” says Johanna Blanding-Koskinen, previously the executive director of the Hepatitis C Multicultural Outreach, and the official spokesperson of the council, coordinating efforts to bring the hep C education, prevention and treatment message to the African American community. Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease that is caused by the Hepatitis C virus (HCV). The infection often shows no symptoms, but once established, a chronic infection can cause liver scaring or cancer. The seriousness of hepatitis C is compounded by the fact that African Americans tend to get the most resistant strain of the virus, and treatment is not always effective. AACLA’s will continue to hold strategy sessions to address the disproportionate effect of Hepatitis C on African Americans, including the creation of culturally sensitive educational messages that encourage community education, awareness and responsibility in the prevention of spreading the virus. For more information, contact the African American Council on Liver Awareness (AACLA).