Our Blog

Chad Elgert, 35, a North Sioux City Speedy Rooter sewer company employee, remains in critical condition at a local hospital after he tried to rescue another worker in the same sewer. Elgert had been called to fix a clogged sewer in a one-block stretch of Souix City, IA recently when his co-worker, Robert Thompson, 54, fell into unconscious from the gasses in the sewer. Elgert then descended into the manhole to try to rescue Thompson, but he was also overtaken…

The Centers for Disease Control is monitoring the large outbreak of E. Coli that has hit European communities this spring. The E. Coli strain, which is a Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O104:H4 infection mosty discovered in Germany, has been confirmed in four cases and one suspected case in the U.S. Of the five cases, four recently traveled to Hamburg, Germany, where they were likely exposed. The CDC has reported an alert to state health departments of the ongoing outbreak and…

The Center for Disease Control reported a collaboration with public health officials in several states, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Hadar infections. The investigation has been linked to eating turkey burgers — although investigators were not able to determine consumption of turkey burgers for all patients. FSIS officials determined that at least three of the case-patients in Colorado, Ohio, and Wisconsin reported eating Jennie-O Turkey…

The name of the five-year-old Houston boy who drowned at the Texas City Dike Beach was released by officials Friday, reports say. The child, Fredy Lazo, drowned after slipping off a float at the Texas City Dike beach Wednesday. Lazo, who was with his mother, Lucia Joya Benitez, 33, about 4 P.M. when they suddenly realized they were in deep water. At that point, the youngster slipped off the float and under the water, reports say. Jessica Lazo, 12, the…

The medical device company Beckman Coulter, Inc., issued a recall in May for their Synchron LX Ion Selective Electrolyte Flow Cell, which is classified by the FDA as a Class I recall by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, say reports. Reports say the pump may wear incorrectly, causing silver iodide build-up and microbial contamination and, ultimately, incorrect electrolyte delivery, which can eventually cause adverse health consequences. The components are are chemical analyzers that are computer-controlled which analyze blood, urine…