Health Highlights: Aug. 6, 2009

Aug. 7 -- Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Ground Beef Recalled Over Salmonella Concerns

A California-based beef packing plant has recalled 825,769 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with an antibiotic-resistant form of Salmonella and may be linked to an outbreak of illness in Colorado, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Thursday.

The ground beef recalled by Fresno-based Beef Packers, Inc., was sent to Colorado, Arizona and Utah, and sold in California, Dow Jones News reported.

The USDA said the Newport strain of Salmonella that may be in the ground beef "is resistant to many commonly prescribed drugs, which can increase the risk of hospitalization or possible treatment failure in infected individuals."

The agency also noted that the "most common manifestations of salmonellosis are diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within eight to 72 hours," Dow Jones reported.

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Seasonal Flu Vaccines Shipped Early

Concerns about the swine flu pandemic have led vaccine makers to start shipping seasonal flu vaccines to the U.S. market much earlier than normal.

GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Novartis AG both started shipping seasonal flu vaccines Wednesday, while Sanofi Pasteur started on July 27, the Associated Press reported.

Novartis is "weeks ahead of schedule," Sanofi is about two weeks early, and Glaxo is slightly ahead of its usual mid-August start.

The companies said they expect concerns about swine flu will lead to increased demand of seasonal flu vaccines this year. They also want to complete production of seasonal vaccines to ensure capacity to make swine flu vaccine, the AP reported.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said Thursday that vaccine manufacturers are on track to start delivering the first batches of swine flu vaccine in September.