Health Highlights: Jan. 27, 2009

Jan. 28 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

California Octuplets in Stable Condition

Southern California octuplets delivered by Caesarean section Monday are in stable condition and breathing on their own, doctors at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center said Tuesday.

Two of the eight infants (six boys and two girls) were initially put on ventilators, but their breathing tubes have been removed, the Associated Press reported. The babies weighed between 1.8 pounds and 3.4 pounds when they were born with the help of 46 doctors, nurses and assistants.

The unidentified mother checked into the hospital seven weeks ago, when she was in her 23rd week of pregnancy. Hospital officials wouldn't reveal whether she'd used fertility drugs.

This is only the second time in recorded history that octuplets have survived more than a few hours. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, the world's first live octuplets were born in March 1967 in Mexico City, but all of them died within 14 hours.

In 1998, octuplets were born in Houston, Texas, but the smallest of those babies died a week after birth. The surviving siblings turned 10 in December, the AP reported.

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Few Postal Workers Took Anthrax Vaccine: Study

Fears about being "guinea pigs," disagreements among public health experts, and a belief that they had a low risk of infection are among the reasons why most U.S. postal workers decided not be vaccinated against anthrax when the deadly germ was sent through the mail in 2001.

Physician advice and conflicting media reports were other reasons cited in a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study that included postal workers in Trenton, N.J., New York City and Washington, D.C., United Press International reported.

During the attacks, which caused five deaths, a two-month dose of antibiotics was given to 10,000 postal workers and others known or suspected to have been exposed to anthrax. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention then advised that people who failed to complete the regimen, or those at high risk for exposure, should take antibiotics for an additional 40 days with or without a supplemental anthrax vaccine.