By Katherine Hobson
More Cantaloupe Deaths: Eighteen people have now died from listeriosis linked to eating tainted cantaloupes, and the number of illnesses associated with the outbreak rose to 100, the WSJ reports. more illnesses are expected to emerge because it can take up to two months for symptoms to appear after infection, FDA head Margaret Hamburg said yesterday.
Additional Warning: the FDA said Roche’s cancer drug Avastin may cause ovarian failure in some women, the WSJ reports. A warning about the fertility problem was added to the drug’s label, as was updated information about the risk of blood clots and bleeding risk and new information about reports of jaw-bone decay.
Projected TB Deaths: Research published in the BMJ suggests that 40 million smokers could die from tuberculosis by 2050, most of them in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean and Southeast Asian areas of the world, BBC News reports. People who smoke are more vulnerable to TB.