Mike Stobbe

AP Medical Writer

This undated photo provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows CDC’s laboratory test kit for the new coronavirus.

In Scramble to Stop Virus, Testing Raises Tough Questions

The questions are global: not just who, when and how to test for the illness, but how to make sure that working test kits get out to the labs that need them.

In this Tuesday, April 10, 2018 photo, Marshfield High School Principal Robert Keuther displays vaping devices that were confiscated from students in such places as restrooms or hallways at the school in Marshfield, Mass. Illinois health officials are reporting what could be United States' first death tied to vaping. In a Friday, Aug. 23, 2019, news release, the Illinois Department of Public Health says a person who recently vaped died after being hospitalized with 'severe respiratory illness.' The agency didn't give any other information about the patient, including a name or where the person lived.

IL Vaping Death May Have Been First

The adult patient was hospitalized after falling ill following vaping.

Beef Likely Cause of Food Poisoning

So far, 109 people have been infected with an unusual strain of the E. coli bacteria.

Officials Declare End to Romaine Outbreak

No new illnesses have been reported for a month, and lettuce from the area is no longer in stores or restaurants.

This May 17, 2018 file photo shows packs of menthol cigarettes and other tobacco products at a store in San Francisco. On Thursday, May 15, 2018, FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb pledged to ban menthol from cigarettes, in what could be a major step to further push down U.S. smoking rates.

FDA Crack Down on Menthols

The move represents a major step to further push down U.S. smoking rates.

This Tuesday, April 10, 2018 file photo shows vaping devices, including a Juul, center, that were confiscated from students at a high school in Marshfield, Mass. On Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2018, San Francisco-based Juul Labs Inc. announced it had stopped filling orders for its mango, fruit, creme and cucumber pods but not menthol and mint. It will sell all flavors through its website and limit sales to those 21 and older.

Juul Halts Sales of Some e-Cigs

The move by Juul Labs Inc. comes ahead of an expected U.S. government crackdown on underage sales of flavored e-cigarettes.

1 in 3 Adults Eat Fast Food Each Day

Higher-income families ate fast food more often than lower-income families.

In this Aug. 8, 2007 file photo, a Milky-Way candy bar is deep-fried in oil free of trans fats at a food booth at the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis. Indiana was the first state to require the switch at its state fair. On Monday, May 14, 2018, the head of the World Health Organization called on all nations to eliminate artificial trans fats from foods in the next five years.

WHO Aims to Kill Trans Fat

Countries will likely have to use regulation or legislation to get food makers to make the switch, experts said.

In this April 12, 2018 photo, scientist Karen Xavier holds a petri dish containing a stool sample of small bacteria colonies in Denver. DNA from samples like these are extracted and sequenced to help health investigators more quickly determine the source of a food borne illness outbreak.

Genetics Aid Food Poisoning Studies

"There are a lot of outbreaks where they don't connect the dots. Now they're going to be connected," said one expert.

This Sep. 9, 2005, photo provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows the then newly constructed 11-story Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory located at the CDC's Roybal campus in Atlanta. Thirteen years after building the state-of-the-art lab for the world’s most dangerous germs, the nation's top public health agency is asking for more than $400 million to build a new one. CDC is asking Congress for the money. Its officials say the current lab building in Atlanta is quickly wearing down, and cannot be upgraded without shutting down the facility for years.

CDC Seeks $400M to Replace Lab

The agency says it needs a new building, even though its existing facility was just built in 2005.

This file photo shows hydrocodone-acetaminophen pills, also known as Vicodin. A government report finds opioid prescription rates have been falling in recent years overall, but rising in more than 1 in 5 U.S. counties.

Opioid Prescriptions Down, but Not Everywhere

Although the amount of opioids prescribed is down 18 percent nationwide, some areas are six times higher than local averages.

Contaminated Surgery Equipment Linked to Deaths

The manufacturer of the devices identified the contamination in its factory and reportedly cleaned it up, but officials think hundreds or thousands of patients could have been infected.