The Health Ministry of Nicaragua on Thursday raised alarm over the outbreak of leptospirosis, a deadly illness prevailing in tropical countries and can be transmitted to human beings by a bacteria present in rat urine.

According to Health Minister Maritza Cuan, 10 people were already killed and 2,700 more cases were reported in some regions of this Central American country

The Food and Drug Administration has expanded their warnings of the risks of botulism poisoning from certain Castleberry brand foods and dog foods. Consumers should be alert to certain products that have been recalled by the manufacturers. The FDA has conducted tests of the Castleberry manufacturing plant in August, Ga.

These inspections were coordinated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the information resulted in this expanded warning of their hot dog chili sauce products as follows: · Austex Onion Hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz.) UPC code #30300-97101 · Austex Hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz.) UPC code #30300-99533 · Castleberry's Hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz.) UPC code #30300-00101 · Castleberry's Onion Hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz.) UPC code #30300-07101 · Bunker Hill Hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz.) UPC code #75266-04152 · Kroger Hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz.) UPC code #11110-83942 · Meijer Hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz.) UPC code #41250-85862 · Food Lion Hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz.) UPC code #35826-06911 · Bloom Hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz.) UPC code #25439-92448 · Thrifty Maid Hot Dog Chili Sauce (10 oz.) UPC code #21140-21367

Although the initial recall for this product was made for the production dates of April 30 to May 22, 2007, the extended recall now includes all the products listed, irregardless of their "best by" dates. The manufacturing of all of these products has been voluntarily discontinued by Castleberry at this time as they cooperate with the FDA in the recall, production and distribution

After finding no detectable amounts of melamine in farmed fish, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it is safe to be eaten. FDA earlier suspected that the fish might be contaminated with imported Chinese ingredients and kept the fish off the market until the tests could be completed.

Giving a clear chit to the fish, Dr. David Acheson, assistant commissioner for food protection, said test performed on fish being raised at Kona Blue in Hawaii and American Gold Seafoods in Washington state were found negative for the chemical melamine

Chinese authorities have detained the general manager of a company linked to the contaminated wheat gluten sold to pet food makers in the U.S., according to a news report.

The general manager, Mao Lijun, is being held in the coastal province of Jiangsu about 320 miles northwest of Shanghai, the New York Times reports

In the wake of the outbreak among nearly 39,000 dogs and cats having been infected by melamine contamination in pet foods, causing permanent illness and death to pets around the country, now there is another need for concern to pet owners. Salmonella contamination has been found in pet chews made by American Bullie (A.B.).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning all consumers to safely discard of any A.B. Bull Pizzle Puppy Chews and Dog Chews. These products may potentially be contaminated with Salmonella