Lansley pushes shakeup of health regulators Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, has announced a cull of regulators to save £180mn in the health sector, consigning the agency that handles public health emergencies to oblivion and splitting up the fertility watchdog. [News Source]

Blue ear disease hits 11 provinces in Vietnam As of Friday (July 30), blue ear disease has affected pigs in 11 provinces across the country, the Department of Animal Health reported. [News Source]

Opinions: IDUs and HIV; AIDS 2010; International Violence Against Women Act In a Los Angeles Times opinion piece, Evan Wood, associate professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, writes about the Vienna Declaration, a document he helped to draft, that calls for international leaders to revise drug policies to incorporate greater scientific evidence and promote HIV prevention, treatment and care for drug users. [News Source]

Scare stories are bad for our health Are you a cowering, diet-obsessed wreck, meticulously measuring your carbs and counting out individual salt granules on to your plate? Headlines like "Tackling the obesity epidemic", and "Food additives murdered my horse" (OK, we made the second one up) can't help to steady your stress levels. [News Source]

County offers financial status update The word at the July 13 meeting of the Wright County Board at the midway point of the 2010 budget year is “so far, so good.” Auditor Bob Hiivala presented the board with the June revenue/expenditure guidelines and, while the numbers aren’t fantastic, they are where they were expected to be. [News Source]

Scare stories are bad for our health Are you a cowering, diet-obsessed wreck, meticulously measuring your carbs and counting out individual salt granules on to your plate? Headlines like "Tackling the obesity epidemic", and "Food additives murdered my horse" (OK, we made the second one up) can't help to steady your stress levels. [News Source]

Agri chief urged to prioritize Halal Food development THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Soccsksargen called on Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala to address the development of Halal Food Industry Program (HFIP) in the country. read more [News Source]

Pilgrim’s Pride Reports Financial Results for Second Quarter of Fiscal 2010 Pilgrim's Pride Corporation today reported net earnings of $32.9 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, on net sales of $1.7 billion for the second quarter ended June 27, 2010. Â These results include nonrecurring administrative restructuring charges of $16.9 million pre-tax, or $10.5 million after tax, or $0.05 per diluted share, related to the writedown of net book value of two office buildings ... [News Source]

Respiratory symptoms accurately determine influenza infection than fever New research shows that individuals with mild H1N1 infection may go undetected using standard diagnostic criteria, according to a study in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, (APIC). The study concludes that coughing or other respiratory symptoms are more accurate in ... [News Source]

Beijing onto WTO chicken winner The World Trade Organization has reportedly ruled in China's favor in a dispute with the United States over imports of mainland chicken. [News Source]

Random vaccine distribution in selected rural community prevents spread of disease: Study The best way to prevent the spread of disease in rural areas may be by targeting select popular hangouts, according to a new study by the Kansas State University EpiCenter research team.The team published "Efficient Mitigation Strategies for Epidemics in Rural Regions" in the July edition of the journal PLoS ONE. The study looks at mitigation strategies based on a contact network model developed ... [News Source]

Quidel second-quarter total revenues increase 1.6% to $25.0 million Quidel Corporation, a leading provider of rapid diagnostic testing solutions, announced today financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2010. [News Source]