Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
VA Mental Health Chief Should Resign: Senators
The mental health director of the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department tried to cover up the rising number of suicides among veterans and should resign, two Democratic senators said Tuesday.
Dr. Ira Katz attempted to withhold important information on the true suicide risk among veterans, said Sens. Daniel Akaka of Hawaii and Patty Murray of Washington state, the Associated Press reported. Akaka is chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and Murray is a committee member.
In an e-mail message made public this week, Katz starts with "Shh!" and writes that 12,000 veterans a year attempt suicide while under VA care.
"Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?" Katz asks in the e-mail, the AP reported.
"Dr Katz's irresponsible actions have been a disservice to our veterans, and it is time for him to go," said Murray, "The No. 1 priority of the VA should be caring for our veterans, not covering up the truth."
A VA spokesmen declined to comment Tuesday, the AP reported.
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Loss of Biodiversity Threatens Development of New Medicines
If action isn't taken to protect the Earth's biodiversity, the opportunity to develop many new kinds of medical treatments will be lost, a senior United Nations environmental official warned Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
Living organisms offer a variety of naturally-produced chemical compounds that can be used to create new medicines, explained Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program. But an increasing number of species are at risk of extinction.
"We must do something about what is happening to biodiversity. We must help society understand how much we already depend on diversity of life to run our economies, our lives, but more importantly, what we are losing in terms of future potential," he told journalists attending a UNEP-organized conference in Singapore, the AP reported.
"Because of science and technology ... we are in a much better position to unlock this ingenuity of nature found in so many species. Yet, in many cases, we will find that we have already lost it before we were able to use it," Steiner said.
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World Faces 'Silent Tsunami' of Hunger
A "silent tsunami" of worldwide hunger could be unleashed by rising food costs, according to the head of the United Nations World Food Program.
Josette Sheeran said increasing food prices could push more than 100 million people into a level of poverty where they can't afford to feed themselves. She spoke at a summit in Britain to discuss the crisis, CBC News reported.
"This is the new face of hunger -- the millions of people who were not in the urgent hunger category six months ago but now are," said Sheeran, who described the crisis as "a silent tsunami that respects no borders."
"The world's misery index is rising ... as soaring food and fuel prices roll through the lives of the most vulnerable," she said.
A number of factors are contributing to increasing food costs: poor harvests; rising energy prices; increasing use of fields to produce corn for ethanol; and growing demand in China and India, CBC News reported.
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Whirlpool Suspends Workers for Lying About Smoking
Whirlpool Corp. has suspended 39 workers at its Evansville, Ind., plant because they claimed on their health insurance that they were nonsmokers but were seen smoking in designated areas outside the plant. The company requires smokers to pay an extra $500 in insurance premiums.
Company spokeswoman Debby Castrale told Fox News that Whirlpool considers falsifying company documents a serious offense. Fact-finding meetings will be held with each of the suspended workers over the next few days, followed by final disciplinary action. Some may be fired.
Most of the 39 suspensions involved production workers. More suspensions, possibly including some administrative staff, could come, Castrale said.
Whirlpool had to recall some laid-off workers to keep production running due to the suspensions, the Associated Press reported.
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Smog Causes Premature Death: Report
There's a clear link between short-term exposure (up to 24 hours) to smog (ozone) and premature deaths, says a study released Tuesday by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
"The committee has concluded from its review of health-based evidence that short-term exposure to ambient ozone is likely to contribute to premature deaths," said the 13-member panel, the Associated Press reported.
They said more research is needed on long-term chronic smog exposure, where the risk of premature death "may be larger than those observed in acute effects studies alone."
The findings challenge the White House stance on the issue.
"The report is a rebuke of the Bush administration which has consistently tried to downplay the connection between smog and premature death," Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, a Washington-based advocacy organization, told the AP.
The Academy's findings "refutes the White House skepticism and denial" of a proven link between acute ozone exposure and premature deaths, said Vickie Patton, deputy general counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund. She noted that the Bush administration has used such arguments to question the health benefits of reducing air pollution.
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KFC Cakes Recalled
Double Chocolate Chip Cakes sold by KFC Corporation are being recalled because certain ingredients -- eggs, milk, wheat, soy and possibly traces of tree nuts -- aren't individually listed on the packaging.
People with allergies to these ingredients could suffer a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they eat the cake. There has been one reported incident of an allergic reaction, according to a news release on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Web site.
The cakes, distributed nationwide at KFC restaurants, come in a round 16-ounce package with a black or clear plastic bottom and a clear plastic dome. Customers with allergies who've purchased the cakes should return them to KFC for a full refund.
There is no health risk for consumers who are not allergic to any ingredients in the cakes.
