More than twice as many people than normal have fallen ill with a strain of salmonella this year in Britain, the Health Protection Agency has reported.
More than 350 cases of a rare strain, called salmonella Newport, have been reported mainly in the Midlands and Northern Ireland this year.
The agency points to unwashed lettuce as the likely culprit.
The disease causes severe diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.
Dr Bob Adak said: “We usually see around 150 cases of this particular strain of Salmonella each year. In some of the local investigations the results suggest that consumption of lettuce from various catering, fast food and take-away premises are the likely cause of the outbreaks.”
Judith Hilton, of the Food Standards Agency, said: “The risk of food poisoning can be greatly reduced by good food hygiene practices.
“These include thorough washing and preparation of lettuce away from other foods to avoid cross contamination. A clean kitchen and good personal hygiene are also obviously important.”
Health obsessives who spend hours each day pouring over latest medical research on the internet are being warned that it can be bad for you.
Researchers from the University of Derby examined sites over the last 18 months dedicated to people with cancer, diabetes and HIV.
They concluded that some of the medical information posted on the web was often inaccurate and unhelpful.
Dr Neil Coulson told the Independent newspaper that most sites connected to societies, charities and professional bodies offered sound advice, but those set up by individuals could include glaring inaccuracies.
“We found that people using these sites can take on board medical advice which is incorrect
“The health profession has coined the term cyberchondria for people using the internet for self-diagnosis and presenting this misinformation to their doctor,” he added.
Psychologists at the University of Zurich say that people actually enjoy telling others off if they have done something wrong.
Writing in the journal Science, they suggest that telling someone off activates part of the brain, the dorsal striatum, which is linked to enjoyment and satisfaction.
This may explain why many people choose to reprimand others if they break the rules or abuse trust.
HIV positive people are being offered free influenza jabs this winter along with other groups including the over-50s, pregnant women and people with long-term medical conditions.
England footballer Paul Scholes launched the Department of Health campaign last month saying: “As an asthmatic I have to be particularly careful because the likelihood of flu developing into more serious illness is much higher than with many others.”
Sir Liam Donaldson, the government’s chief medical officer, said: “Flu is not a serious cold, it can be a serious illness and 3,000 to 4,000 deaths are linked to it each year.”
Douglas Fleming of the Royal College of GPs’ flu research unit, said: “People in the recognised risk groups who are uncertain should contact their local GP surgery.”
In the past people with HIV have avoided flu jabs because of short-term immune system suppression, but they are now advised to have a free flu jab each autumn.
Fasting from dawn to dusk during Ramadan can cause problems for Muslims taking prescribed drugs, warn researchers from the British Medical Journal.
During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins on 15 October 2004, adult Muslims are required to refrain from eating, drinking or taking oral drugs between dawn and dusk.
Patients with chronic diseases often insist on fasting even though they are not required to under Islamic rules.
The BMJ reports that some Muslims on medications, arbitrarily modify the times and doses of their treatments without seeking medical help.
People with HIV on antiretroviral therapy are particularly warned that they must take their medications at the correct times and in sufficient dose strength throughout the day otherwise drug resistant HIV may develop very quickly.
