Health Highlights: Aug. 20, 2005

Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Sen. Harry Reid Recovering After Mini-Stroke

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada suffered a brief mini-stroke Tuesday which left no complications, his aides disclosed Friday. According to the Associated Press, the 65-year-old Reid felt lightheaded Tuesday evening in his hometown of Searchlight, Nev., and that night saw a doctor in Las Vegas who diagnosed a transient ischemic attack.

"There are no complications or restrictions on his activities," press secretary Tessa Hafen told the AP. "He has undergone evaluations this week, and his doctors have recommended that he take advantage of the summer congressional recess for some down time." Hafen said news of Reid''s condition was delayed till Friday because of "the tests and the evaluations that they were doing. We wanted to make sure we knew what we were announcing."

Reid is not hospitalized, but did cancel several public events scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Nevada. He remains in Las Vegas with family.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, a transient ischemic attack is a minor stroke lasting a few minutes, occurring when the blood supply to part of the brain is briefly interrupted. Symptoms can include weakness and dizziness, usually disappearing within an hour but sometimes persisting for up to 24 hours. Mini strokes do raise risks for full-blown stroke.

California Battles FDA Over Tuna Warning

The Food and Drug Administration earlier this week cautioned California officials that moves by that state to slap mercury warnings on tuna ran counter to federal law.

On Friday, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer shot back, claiming the letter''s aim was to stop a lawsuit filed by the state against tuna companies over the disputed warnings.

According to the Associated Press, the FDA letter, written by agency commissioner Lester Crawford Aug. 12, argues against the warnings, which he say "frustrate the carefully considered federal approach to advising consumers of both the benefits and possible risks of eating fish and shellfish." Warning labels on packaging may needlessly scare consumers who could benefit from tuna away from the food, the letter says.

But Lockyer''s office disagrees. "The federal government has no authority to prevent California, or any state, from reuiring warnings that provide truthful, important information," Lockyer''s spokesman Tom Dresslar told the AP.

A year ago, Lockyer launched a suit against the nation''s three top canned tuna producers -- Tri-Union Seafoods (maker of Chicken of the Sea), Del Monte (maker of Starkist), and Bumble Bee Seafoods -- citing a 1986 state law requiring businesses to provide "clear and reasonable" warnings that inform consumers of the presence in food of reproductive toxins such as mercury. The trial is scheduled to begin in a San Francisco court Oct. 19.

The FDA considers advisories targeted to doctors and the media a better approach to informing the public of these toxins.

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Virus Scare Spurs Quarantine of Arkansas Pet Distributor

The Arkansas state Department of Health and Human Services on Friday ordered the quarantine of a pet store distributing company, Midsouth Distributors, after suspecting that some of the company''s rodents were infected with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), which can be dangerous to humans.

According to the Associated Press, LCMV infection was linked to the recent deaths of three organ transplant recipients in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. All of the recipients received organs from a single donor, who had owned a hamster bought from Midsouth Distributors of Ohio LLC. That company has common ownership with Midsouth Distributors of Arkansas, state health officials explained.

Tests conducted by officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that two hamsters arriving from the Arkansas facility tested positive for infection with LCMV.

LCMV is typically carried in the saliva, urine and feces of mice, hamsters, rats and guinea pigs, Arkansas state epidemiologist Frank Wilson told the AP. Pregnant women who become infected with the virus are at special risk, since the virus has been linked to serious birth defects and miscarriage.

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Coretta Scott King''s Condition: Partial Paralysis

Coretta Scott King is mostly paralyzed on the right side of her body from a stroke suffered earlier this week and faces a long, difficult recovery, her doctor told the Associated Press on Friday.

The 78-year-old widow of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. can''t walk and has difficulty speaking. The stroke affected the left side of her brain, which controls speech, the wire service said.

Her personal physician, Dr. Maggie Mermin, said King would remain at Atlanta''s Piedmont Hospital for at least another week. Mermin appeared to counter statements made earlier in the day by King''s children that she was expected to recover fully.

"I''m not certain she''ll have a full recovery . . . We certainly hope for that," Mermin told the wire service.

King, who was admitted on Tuesday, was listed in fair condition early Friday and was being given blood thinners to prevent more problems, said cardiologist Dr. Charles Wickcliffe. He said a blood clot had moved from King''s heart and lodged in an artery on the left side of her brain, causing the stroke.

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Nearly 2,000 People Believed Sickened at New York Water Park

Nearly 2,000 people have contracted a gastrointestinal illness that appears to have been spread at a New York state-run waterpark, the Associated Press reported.

At least 1,738 probable cases across 20 New York counties have been tallied, the wire service said. On Tuesday, state health officials closed Seneca Lake Park''s "Sprayground" for the summer as a result of the outbreak.

At least 13 cases in four different counties have been confirmed as cryptosporidiosis, a contagious waterborne disease that causes symptoms that include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and fever. Symptoms could last for weeks, the AP said.

The state Health Department has detected the bacterium responsible for the illness in two storage tanks that supply water to the park. A nearby beach was allowed to remain open when tests revealed no trace of the germ, the wire service said.

To prevent the illness from spreading, the Health Department advised the thorough washing of hands after using the bathroom, or coming in contact with child fecal matter in any way, the AP said.