(HealthDay News) — The first emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 antigen test has been issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Antigen tests are a new category of tests for use in the coronavirus pandemic and quickly detect fragments of proteins from the virus in samples collected by swab from people’s noses. The approval was issued Friday to the Quidel Corp. for the Sofia SARS Antigen FIA, which is “authorized for use in high and moderate complexity laboratories certified by Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), as well as for point-of-care [ie, doctor’s office] testing,” according to an FDA news release. “I am very enthusiastic about antigen testing because of its ability to be scaled up to millions of tests a day, and because it has a much more rapid turnaround,” Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, told The New York Times. “A lot of us have been looking forward to this moment.” “It’s a very rapid test that could be used in a doctor’s office,” former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb explained Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “Doctors now have about 40,000 of these Sofia machines already installed in their offices” where they are used to test for strep throat and flu, he explained. The FDA said it expects to issue more emergency use authorizations (EUAs) for antigen tests…  read on >

Next time you inspect your salad greens to make sure they look clean, consider this: Researchers are trying to determine if drying leafy greens using the spin cycle of a retrofitted washing machine is safe. Some farmers use the method instead of expensive, commercial-grade spinners to dry leafy greens after they’re washed. But it’s not clear using a converted washing machine is safe. “This has been a common practice among small producers of greens,” said Amanda Kinchla, an associate professor of food science at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst Extension. “There are no regulations against this, but there is no data right now on the risk.” Bacteria and grime could accumulate if farmers don’t know the best ways to spin the greens and clean the washing machines, according to Andrew Chamberlin, an agricultural engineering technician at the University of Vermont (UVM Extension). “We are trying to share best practices for food production,” he said in a UMass news release. One example of a best practice is to place the greens in baskets that fit inside the machine. This reduces the points of contact and the risk of contamination, compared with putting the greens directly into the washer, Chamberlin explained. Based on his instructions, the UMass researchers have converted four washing machines to assess how leafy green contamination may occur, what germs are present, and…  read on >

Grocery shopping has become a daunting endeavor during the coronavirus pandemic, but there are things you can do to protect yourself and others, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says. Prepare a shopping list in advance and buy just one to two weeks’ worth of groceries at a time. Buying more than you need can create temporary shortages, the FDA said in a news release. Wear a face covering or mask while you’re in the store. Some stores and localities may require it. Check your state, county or city guidelines for any other requirements. Carry your own wipes, or use those provided by the store to wipe down the handles of the shopping cart or basket. If you use reusable shopping bags, ensure they are cleaned or washed before each use. Practice social distancing while shopping, which means keeping at least 6-feet between you, other shoppers and store employees. Keep your hands away from your face. Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds when you return home and again after you put away your groceries. There is no evidence of food packaging being associated with the transmission of the coronavirus, the FDA said. But, if you wish to do so as an extra precaution, you can wipe down product packaging and allow it to air dry. Grocery stores may…  read on >

With job losses skyrocketing because of the coronavirus pandemic, hunger is a growing issue for millions of Americans, according to a new report. Surveying more than 10,000 people across the United States late last month, researchers found that nearly 4 in 10 had too little to eat or difficulty obtaining healthy foods. Southern states have been especially hard hit, with nearly half in some states having “food insecurity,” the survey shows. “Food insecurity was high in America before the pandemic, and it has gotten even worse,” said lead researcher Kevin Fitzpatrick, a sociology professor at the University of Arkansas. “The U.S. food system is in the middle of a crisis.” Food insecurity is both uncertainty about being able to buy food when you run out and having to cut back on the size of meals, or in the most severe cases, actually skipping a whole day’s worth of food, explained Elaine Waxman, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. The issue affects poor minorities far more than the white middle-class, Fitzpatrick said. And even before COVID-19-related shutdowns left scores of Americans without paychecks, organizations that feed the needy were under pressure. Many providers were already at their limits and unable to respond to the greater demand, Fitzpatrick said. When he and his university colleagues conducted their survey the…  read on >

Whether she gets it from fruits, beans, grains or vegetables, dietary fiber appears to at least slightly lower a woman’s risk for breast cancer, a comprehensive new review finds. The review covered data from 20 different trials involving millions of women. It found that high levels of total fiber consumption “was associated with an 8% lower risk of breast cancer,” compared to low consumption. The studies only included prospective trials, where a trial is set up and results tabulated as time goes on. Prospective trials are thought to have more validity than retrospective diet/cancer studies, which only ask women what they ate in the past. The new study is the first such data review involving prospective studies, said a team led by Maryam Farvid of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in Boston. Beyond the overall reduction in risk, the review also found the anti-cancer benefit of fiber extended to women of all ages. “A high intake of total fiber also was found to be significantly associated with a decreased risk in both premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancers,” Farvid’s group noted. One breast cancer specialist was encouraged by the findings. “With the risk for breast cancer being as significant as it is, we are always looking for ways in which we can decrease a woman’s risk for developing this disease,” said Dr. Lauren…  read on >

It is safe to donate blood during the coronavirus pandemic? Do cloth face masks offer meaningful protection against COVID-19? These are among the questions Americans are asking, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the agency is offering some answers. A number of measures are being taken to protect the nation’s blood supply, according to the FDA. Blood donors must be healthy and feel well on the day of donation. Routine donor screening should prevent people with respiratory infections from donating blood. However, donors are told to contact the donor center if they become ill after giving blood, so that their blood or plasma won’t be used. No cases of COVID-19 have been linked to blood or products made from blood collected from donors who developed COVID-19 after donating, the FDA said in a news release. And giving blood is one way for you to help during this public health emergency. If you’re healthy and want to donate blood, contact a local donation center to make an appointment, the agency advised. There’s another way you might be able to help — by donating convalescent plasma, the FDA said. Scientists are investigating its use to treat COVID-19. Convalescent plasma is the liquid part of blood that’s collected from patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies in their blood against the virus. The…  read on >

Eating a Mediterranean diet that’s high in vegetables, whole grains and fish could reduce your risk of mental decline, two studies from the U.S. National Eye Institute (NEI) suggest. “We do not always pay attention to our diets. We need to explore how nutrition affects the brain and the eye,” lead author Dr. Emily Chew said in an NEI news release. She is director of the institute’s division of epidemiology and clinical applications. The researchers analyzed data from the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and the follow-up study, AREDS2. The studies, which included 8,000 people in all, were set up to explore the eye disease age-related macular degeneration. At the start of both studies, participants’ diets were assessed, including their average consumption of specific Mediterranean diet components over the previous year. Besides veggies, whole grains and fish, this type of meal plan is rich in whole fruits, nuts, legumes and olive oil. A Mediterranean diet also features lower consumption of red meat and alcohol. AREDS tested participants’ mental (cognitive) function at five years, and AREDS2 tested mental function at the start and again two, four and 10 years later. Those who most closely followed the Mediterranean diet had the lowest risk of mental impairment. Although the study can’t prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship, high levels of fish and vegetable consumption appeared to provide the greatest…  read on >

You’re in lockdown, yet you still have to go grocery shopping, but how do you stay safe and avoid catching the coronavirus? The American Medical Association has some timely tips. When you go to the store: Stay at least six-feet away from other shoppers. Don’t shake hands, hug or have any physical contact. Wipe down grocery carts or basket handles with disinfectant wipes if you have them. Don’t touch your face. Wear a cloth face mask. While waiting and after leaving the store, use hand sanitizer if you have it. If you’re sick, don’t go shopping. But if you must, wear a mask, wash your hands often and keep a safe distance between you and others. When you get your groceries home: Although it’s unlikely you’ll be exposed to the virus from the items in your shopping bag, wash your hands after unpacking your groceries. Wipe surfaces with a household disinfectant. Take precautions when preparing food: Wash your hands before eating. Do not share plates or silverware with others. Rinse fruits and vegetables before eating them. If you’re 65 or older: Ask a neighbor or friend to pick up groceries and leave them outside your house or bring them in while keeping at least six-feet apart. Check with your local market and go during store hours reserved for older shoppers. See if your grocer delivers…  read on >

Even if your takeout dinner was prepared by a cook who has COVID-19, there’s little need to worry about your risk of infection, according to an expert in viruses. “Restaurant kitchens can be one of the safest places in this coronavirus outbreak because they already practice strict hygiene protocols to avoid foodborne illness,” said Paula Cannon, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. “Owners are taking this extremely seriously and monitoring their staff for symptoms, and encouraging the strictest adherence to all food hygiene procedures,” Cannon said in a university news release. Even if a sick chef was preparing your pizza, burger or lo mien and they coughed onto the food — “which I think is extraordinarily unlikely to happen,” Cannon said — there are also easy, additional safeguards you can adopt at home. For example, she pointed out that it’s easy to kill the new coronavirus with heat. So rewarming your meal when you get it home, or making sure that it’s hot, should provide extra reassurance, Cannon said. If you’re still uneasy, buy food to eat the next day and store it in the fridge or the freezer, she suggested. Time, as well as heat, kills the new coronavirus. Concerned that the virus may be lingering on the outside…  read on >