Health Highlights: June 12, 2017

Spaghetti and Meatball Products Recalled by Conagra

More than 700,00 pounds of canned spaghetti and meatball products have been recalled by Conagra Brands, Inc. because they may contain milk that is not declared on the label, potentially posing a threat to people who are allergic to milk.

The products include 14.75-oz cans of Libby's, Del Pino's, Hy-Top, Food Hold and Essential Everday Spaghetti and Meatballs made with Pork, Chicken and Beef in Tomato Sauce, as well as Chef Boyardee Mini Pasta Shells and Meatballs, Pasta and Meatballs made with Pork, Chicken and Beef in Tomato Sauce.

The products, which were produced on Jan. 5, 2017 and Jan. 12, 2017 and have the establishment number "EST. 794M" inside the USDA mark of inspection, were shipped across the United States.

There are no confirmed reports of illnesses linked to the recalled products, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Legionnaires' Disease Cases in New York City and Las Vegas

Cases of Legionnaires' disease in New York City and Las Vegas are being investigated by health officials.

In New York City, traces of the bacteria that causes the disease were detected in the water at a Manhattan police station where an officer who recently fell ill works. The officer is recovering, The New York Times reported.

Officers can still work in the 23rd Precinct station house on East 102nd Street in East Harlem, but the city Health Department has told them not to take showers there, and to use cold water for drinking and for preparing hot beverages and food until the investigation is complete. Hot water has been shut down at the precinct as a precaution, police officials said.

"There is no public health risk to the larger community," according to a Health Department statement, The Times reported.

In Las Vegas, two guests who stayed at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino fell ill with Legionnaires' disease. They stayed separately at the resort in March and April, the Southern Nevada Health District said, CNN reported.

The bacteria that causes the disease was found in the hot-water system of one of the hotel's towers, said Mark Bergtholdt, the district's environmental health supervisor. The hotel is disinfecting the system with chlorine, and rooms served by the system will not be occupied until the system is properly flushed, Bergtholdt said.

"Guests who stayed at the Rio more than two weeks ago and have not developed symptoms are not at risk for disease," the health district said in a statement, CNN reported.

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New Director of U.S. National Cancer Institute Named

Oncologist and geneticist Norman Sharpless has been named as the new director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute.

Sharpless, 50, was the director of the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and his selection to lead the NCI was praised by cancer research and treatment experts, the Washington Post reported.

However, Sharpless is taking over the NCI "at a very tough time," as the Trump administration targets the agency with a budget cut of about $1 billion, according to Derek Raghavan, president of the Levine Cancer Institute, part of Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte.

The new director "has some challenges ahead of him," Raghavan told the Post.

Sharpless replaces Doug Lowy, who has been acting director of the NCI since early 2015. Lowy is expected to remain at the NCI as deputy director and a researcher.