Health Headlines - August 16

Ground Beef Recalled

About 60,000 pounds of ground beef sold mainly in the southeastern United States have been recalled because it could be tainted with E. coli bacteria.

The recall of the meat from National Beef Packaging Co. of Dodge City, Kan. was announced after the Ohio Department of Agriculture detected the bacteria during routine testing, the Associated Press reported.

At least three major grocery store chains -- Winn-Dixie Stores Inc, Publix Super Markets Inc., and Kroger Co. -- have recalled packages of the ground beef sold mainly in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The companies advised consumers to return the ground beef to their stores for a full refund, the AP reported.

There have been no reports of illnesses, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Bat on Flight Causes Rabies Concerns

U.S. health officials are concerned about possible rabies exposure among 50 airline passengers who may have had contact with a bat that was on an Aug. 5 Delta flight from Madison, Wis. to Atlanta.

The airliner returned to Madison after the bat appeared, but it's not known if the bat had rabies because it escaped after the plane landed, the Associated Press reported.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to reach all the passengers who were on the 6:45 a.m. flight 5121 in order to make sure they didn't have close contact with the bat.

As of last Friday, the CDC had talked to only 13 of the passengers and is asking the other passengers to call 1-866-613-2683, the AP reported.

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Excess Fat Affects Body's Sugar Sensors: Study

A high-fat diet can trigger type 2 diabetes by interfering with the body's sugar sensors, according to a new study.

Being overweight is one of the main risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Learning more about the link between fat and type 2 diabetes could help lead to a cure, according to the researchers at the University of California and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, BBC News reported.

The study, conducted with mice and human pancreatic cells, appears in the journalNature Medicine.

The findings are interesting and this is a "theory worth investigating further," Dr. Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, told BBC News.