Contagious and Infectious Diseases

Sue Gibson, HIV Patient in Castlewood Case: Other Patients May Have Been Denied Care

The Department of Justice agreed last week that a St. Louis eating disorder clinic discriminated against an HIV-positive woman by intentionally delaying her admittance and denying her treatment. Castlewood Treatment Center for Eating Disorders has been ordered to pay a $140,000 settlement, the secon ... More >>

Castlewood Eating Disorder Clinic: Sue Gibson Denied Treatment Because of HIV Status

In a statement released late yesterday afternoon, the Department of Justice announced it reached a settlement with Castlewood Treatment Center for Eating Disorders over its refusal to treat an HIV-positive woman suffering from anorexia. Susan Gibson, a mid-Missouri resident, tried to gain acceptanc ... More >>

City of St. Louis Has 2nd Highest Rates of Chlamydia and Gonorrhea in the U.S.

Just looked at the new numbers released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. There's a sliver of good news and some pretty bad news. First, the bad news. Among U.S. counties and independent cities, the city of St. Louis had the second-highest rate of both chlamydia and gonorrhea in the ... More >>

Ultimate Meatless Burgers: Meat? No. Listeria? Maybe.

So maybe you don't have to ponder the ethical dilemma of eating meat when you tear open a package of Veggie Patch's Ultimate Meatless Burger. You do have to ponder the risk of listeria. Veggie Patch has announced a voluntary recall of two products, its Ultimate Meatless Burger and its Falafel, bec ... More >>

Nesquik Recalled for Salmonella Risk

The good news for Nesquik? Wreck-It Ralph, the animated film with which it has a promotional partnership, is looking like a blockbuster. The bad news? The only reason we're talking about Nesquik's promotional partnership with Wreck-It Ralph is because of a recall of the chocolate-powder drink mix. ... More >>

Fresh Express Recalls Spinach for Salmonella Risk

Well, look at that: It's a Friday When Food Attacks two-fer. Hot on the heels of the news that Nestle has recalled Nesquik for a risk of salmonella contamination, comes word (via the FDA) that Fresh Express has recalled bagged spinach for potential salmonella contamination. Specifically, Fresh Expr ... More >>

David France's stirring history of ACT UP

Cantaloupe Salmonella Outbreak Strikes 21 States, Including Missouri and Illinois [Updated]

Chamberlin Farm Produce of Owensville, Indiana, has announced a voluntary recall of all of the cantaloupes from this year's growing season after being linked to an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium that has sickened at least 178 people across twenty-one states.

Listeria Threat Prompts Multiple Recalls

On July 18, Gills Onions of Oxnard, California, voluntarily recalled certain packages of its diced and slivered red and yellow onions as well as an onion and celery mix because of possible listeria monocytogenes contamination. As the press release announcing the recall makes clear, listeria is serio ... More >>

Cargill Recalls Ground Beef for Possible Salmonella Contamination

Cargill has recalled 29,339 pounds of ground beef because of possible salmonella contamination, the USDA announced yesterday. An outbreak of salmonella in early June sickened 33 individuals; officials were able to trace back five of the cases to ground beef from Cargill Meat Solutions in Wyalusing, ... More >>

Put Down That Dried Bream, Friend -- It Wants to Kill You

Albert Pujols will always play first base for the Cardinals. Today will always defeat Good Morning America in the ratings. Your dried bream will always be properly eviscerated and botulism-free. No, it hasn't been a good year for the eternal verities. Via the FDA comes an announcement from Euphori ... More >>

Everything Went Black to Embark on Tour With Hardcore Legends Ringworm

St. Louis's premiere blackened metallic hardcore outfit, Everything Went Black, will be leaving town on a tour with Deathwish Record's legendary Ringworm this summer. The eleven date run, announced today, will take the bands in a southernly direction to and from Austin's 8th annual Chaos in Tejas fe ... More >>

Danforth Center Researchers Hot on Trail of Vaccine for Cruise Ship Stomach Flu

There may be no vaccine for the plague of cruise ships -- for further details, see David Foster Wallace's classic essay, "Shipping Out" -- but not at least team of researchers that includes Tom Smith, a lead investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, may be on the way to building a va ... More >>

We're No. 2 in Chlamydia, No. 3 in Gonorrhea!

Image viaFolks, please wear more of these. ​St. Louisans are still ridin' durrty - even more than before! According to fresh stats from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, our city has retained its number-two spot in the nation for cases of chlamydia, and vaulted from twelfth to th ... More >>

Just Recall It: Landshire Recalls Nike All-American Sandwiches

fda.govSt. Louis-based Landshire has recalled sandwiches owing to listeria concerns.​A local sandwich company has had its products recalled after screenings in North Carolina revealed possible listeria contamination. Landshire of St. Louis voluntarily recalled 1,751 cases of the Nike All-Amer ... More >>

Patrick Gregory: Central West End Man Exposed Women to HIV, Say Prosectors

Patrick Gregory had an active sex life, say prosecutors.​A Central West End man stands accused of the three felony charges of recklessly exposing a sex partner to HIV. According to a probable cause statement issued yesterday, 26-year-old Patrick Wayne Gregory had sexual relations with two women w ... More >>

Salmonella Detected in Cargill Turkey Last Year

​The Wall Street Journal reports today that the USDA first detected salmonella Heidelberg in Cargill's Springdale, Arkansas, turkey-processing plant last year but was restricted by its own rules from doing anything about it.Cargill recalled 36 million pounds of ground turkey after at least 77 peop ... More >>

Salmonella Found in Ground Turkey [Updated 2x]

Image via Turkey meat is grounds for concern.​Update #2: (Thursday, August 4, 6:45 a.m.) Meat processor Cargill yesterday announced a voluntary recall of 36 million pounds of ground turkey produced at its Springdale, Arkansas, processing plant and sold under the "Honeysuckle White" brand. A ... More >>

[UPDATED] Pilgrim's Pride Recalls Over 11,000 Pounds of Cooked Chicken

Pilgrim's PrideThe pilgrims aren't too proud, thanks to listeria fears. ​Yesterday we reported that there was a recall on 204 pounds of precooked chicken in Starbucks new Bistro Boxes for possible listeria contamination. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Or the beak of the bird. Yesterday ... More >>

Get Tested: It's National HIV Testing Day

​Today is National HIV Testing Day. Do you know your status? Are you sure?According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than a million people in the U.S. living with HIV. And even though we aren't being bombarded with prevention messages like we were when the disease ... More >>

County Mosquitoes Test Positive for West Nile Virus

​It's officially summer, time to enjoy the great outdoors...and maybe get sick from tiny bloodsucking bastards!The St. Louis County Department of Health reports that mosquitoes in the county have tested positive for West Nile Virus, though no human cases have been reported. Although it sounds all ... More >>

Rare Fungal Disease the Latest Horrible Thing to Hit Joplin

image viaZygomycosis: the next horrible thing to hit Joplin.​Just when you thought things in Joplin couldn't get any more post-apocalyptic, the Huffington Post reports this morning that a rare and deadly fungus is now infecting tornado survivors. Zygomycosis happens when soil or vegetative m ... More >>

Ground Beef Recalls Abound

Wikimedia CommonsLots and lots of ground beef, recalled.​ Just in time for grilling season, ground beef has been recalled from opposite ends of the country. Irish Hills Meat Company in Tipton, Michigan (55 miles southwest of Detroit) recalled about 900 pounds of ground beef for possible E. co ... More >>

Mobile STI Testing in The Grove This Weekend

​It can't be said enough: Sexually active people must know whether they have HIV or other sexually-transmitted infections. It's the first and most crucial step in preventing the spread of these infections and in seeking treatment when it's needed."Forty-five percent of new cases [of HIV] are from ... More >>

The Coldest Cut: Eat Your Cold Cuts Hot (With Poll!)

Image viaListeria monocytogenes: Goes well with honey ham, yellow American.​Do you enjoy cold cuts, in sandwich form or, perhaps, eaten directly from the wrapped deli package while standing in front of the fridge 'round midnight? Are you over the age of 50?THEN PUT THOSE COLD CUTS DOWN, MY FRIEND. ... More >>

Leprosy: Another Reason to Avoid Those Armadillos Invading from the South

Be sure to cook thoroughly.​Drive outside of St. Louis, and invariably you'll see one or two of them lying dead on the side of the road. Armadillos first began arriving in southern Missouri some thirty years ago and can now be found throughout most the state.And -- as has been proven in other stat ... More >>

Sea Salt's Healthy! Veggies Aren't! We're Confused!

Wikimedia Commons​ Sliced cucumbers tossed with earthy alfalfa sprouts, sprinkled with coarse Fleur de Sel ... it's a perfect, healthy recipe to refresh on a hot summer day. If it doesn't kill you! L&M Companies, Inc. of Raleigh, NC, has issued a nationwide recall of cucumbers. A batch of ... More >>

Meth-Fighting Missouri Pseudoephedrine Ban Could Face Filibuster

Sudafed shouldn't need a 'scrip, says State Senator Rob Schaaf.​In hopes of combating the state's never-ending meth problem, state legislators have been pushing a bill to make cold medicines that include pseudoephedrine available by prescription only.That would include Sudafed, Claritin and a host ... More >>

Another Egg Recall; Missouri Included

Image viaIncredible? Edible? Not so much.​News over the wire this morning of another egg recall: 288,000 eggs from Croton, Ohio-based Ohio Fresh Eggs, distributed by Cal-Maine Foods, have tested positive for salmonella. The affected eggs were distributed in Missouri.The FDA website has a list of r ... More >>

HIV: A New Challenge For Aging Adults

Grandma didn't see this video​Evolving drug cocktails and treatment modes have changed HIV from a certain death sentence into a long-term health care challenge. Here in Missouri, about half of the people living with the disease are older than 45."We're seeing, for the first time, this actively agi ... More >>

West Nile Buzzes Into Missouri Early This Year

When mosquitoes attack -- an artist's rendering.​Arm yourselves, Missourians: Mosquitoes carrying the deadly West Nile virus have been discovered in north and south St. Louis county, as well as Jefferson County. No human cases have been reported this summer, as of yet, but keep an eye out for th ... More >>

Deer Tick Announces a Proper St. Louis Show

Travis HuggettJohn J. McCauley III, chilling like a villain this summer​In November 2009, Deer Tick did an impromptu show at Off Broadway after King Khan & BBQ Show canceled due to an arrest. Then, Deer Tick did a last-minute show in March at the Wedge, on the way to SXSW. But as of today, Dee ... More >>

Where to Dine Out for Life -- And Why You Should

​Yesterday Aimee Levitt shared information from the Saint Louis Effort for AIDS (EFA) on the state of AIDS/HIV in St. Louis, and why events like Thursday's Dining Out for Life are still necessary. Even though about 5,000 St. Louisans are living with AIDS, many people are under-informed about t ... More >>

Before You Dine Out For Life, Saint Louis Effort for AIDS Wants You to Know About HIV

Image source​This Thursday, April 29, marks the seventeenth annual Dining Out For Life event where you eat at one of more than 140 local restaurants and they donate a share of the profits to Saint Louis Effort for AIDS, 25-year-old organization that provides support services to people who hav ... More >>

Local STD Club Increases Membership Despite Obvious Recruitment Challenges

​You think your organization has trouble recruiting new members? Try forming a club solely for people willing to admit they have herpes and/or genital warts. It ain't easy. "I've tried a lot of tactics," says the 29-year-old female founder of St. Louis H Club who, for the purposes of this post, we ... More >>

Stronger Together

Good Night, Sweet Prince

SLU Doctor Explains How to Grow Flu Vaccine in Chicken Eggs, Dog Kidneys and Caterpillars

If you, like many, have wondered why it's taken so long for pharmaceutical companies to roll out the new swine vaccine, here's your answer. slu.eduVaccine Man: Dr. Robert Belshe​The vaccines must first be grown in fertilized chicken eggs, which requires getting a hen and a rooster to copulate -- n ... More >>

Press Releases of the Day: Beware the Possible Swine Flu Pandemic

via WikipediaThis press release just in from the Red Cross, St. Louis Area Chapter, regarding the Swine Flu outbreak:"Think of this swine flu outbreak like severe weather. If you thought a storm was coming - you would take steps to prepare yourself," said Nicole Holtgrefe, director of preparedness a ... More >>

Press Release of the Day

Unreal's inbox, as usual, overfloweth, so officially this should be yesterday's press release of the day, but what the hey...It comes to us from the good folks at the St. Louis County Department of Health, and you can read it after the jump.But first please permit us to note that not just any docume ... More >>

STD-Day: The recent HIV scare at Normandy High School has prompted cries for better sex education

In Wake of Normandy High's HIV Scare, Free Testing Available

Lend a Helping Tummy

You eat, kids benefit

Lend A Helping Tummy

You eat, kids benefit

ARK Angels

Who We've Lost

The Great Imitator

The scourge of syphilis re-emerges, deadlier than before

AIDS Walk: A Big Deal

Take steps in the right direction with the AIDS Foundation of St. Louis

Ode to Joy

Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens is not so much a eulogy of AIDS victims as it is a celebration of life

Unbroken Promise

A young woman raises her voice in the face of despair