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

Elevated Levels of Pollutants Found in Store-Bought Bass

White bass caught in Lake Erie and sold in stores contained higher levels of mercury, arsenic and selenium than white bass caught near former iron and steel mills on the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in Pittsburgh.

That's the conclusion of a study presented Wednesday at the American Public Health Association annual meeting, in Washington, D.C.

University of Pittsburgh researchers compared 45 white bass caught by local anglers in the two rivers and 10 white bass caught on the Canadian side of Lake Erie and sold in Pittsburgh-area stores. Compared to the river fish, the lake fish had 2.2 to 4.8 times higher mercury levels, 1.9 times higher selenium levels, and 1.7 times higher arsenic levels.

"We were surprised by our results since we had hypothesized that levels of contaminants in fish would be higher in specimens caught near once heavily polluted sites," principal investigator Conrad D. Volz, of the department of environmental and occupational health, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, said in a prepared statement.

"These results indicate to us that purchasing fish from a local market cannot guarantee food safety. We recommend a more rigorous testing program for commercial freshwater fish with particular attention to fish entering the U.S. from other countries," he said.

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More U.S. Children Taking Drugs to Treat Chronic Conditions

Between 2002 and 2005, the use of type 2 diabetes drugs by American children ages 10 to 14 more than doubled, and there was a 166 percent increase in the use of the drugs by girls in that age group. The likely reason is obesity, which is closely associated with type 2 diabetes, say the authors of a study that looked at chronic medication use in children ages 5 to 19.

The researchers, from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and School of Public Health and pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts, also found increases in children's use of drugs to treat blood pressure, cholesterol, asthma and depression.

Among the findings:

• Use of blood pressure drugs by males ages 15 to 19 increased 15.4 percent.
• Use of antidepressants by females ages 15 to 19 increased 6.8 percent.
• Use of asthma controller medication increased 67.3 percent among children ages 5 to 9; 38.8 percent among children ages 10 to 14; and 34.7 percent among those ages 15 to 19.

"Overall, these patterns could reflect changing prescribing behaviors by physicians (anti-hypertensives), increases in the risk factors for chronic diseases (type 2 antidiabetics, antihyperlipimedics), increased office visit rates and therefore screening rates -- particularly for females -- or trends toward greater use of drug therapy as the preferred mode of treating children with chronic conditions," Sharon M. Homan, professor of community health at Saint Louis University School of Public Health, said in a prepared statement.

The study was presented Wednesday at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association, in Washington, D.C.

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Toys Contain Chemical That Converts to 'Date Rape' Drug

A popular Chinese-made toy was ordered off store shelves in Australia after tests showed that it contained a chemical that converts into the "date rape" drug gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB) when ingested, the Associated Press reported.

Over the past 10 days, three children in Australia had to be hospitalized after they swallowed beads from Bindeez, which had been declared the country's toy of the year by industry members.

Bindeez, sold by Australia-based Moose Enterprises, has beads that can be arranged into designs and then fused together by spraying water on them. The beads were supposed to contain a nontoxic compound used in glue, the AP reported. However, scientists found that the beads contain a chemical that humans metabolize into GHB, which can cause drowsiness, unconsciousness, seizures, coma and death.

Moose Enterprises said some batches of the toy did not match its approved formula and is investigating how unauthorized materials ended up in the beads, The New York Times reported.

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MRSA Common Among Pigs, Pig Farmers

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria are common among Canadian pigs and pig farmers, says a study that looked for MRSA in 285 pigs at 20 Ontario farms. Researchers found MRSA at 45 percent of the farms, in nearly 25 percent of pigs, and in 20 percent of pig farmers.

The study, which appears in the journal Veterinary Microbiology, is the first to indicate that North American pigs and pig farms regularly carry MRSA. The findings seem to support previous European research that identified pig farms as a possible source of these antibiotic-resistant infections, which commonly occur in hospitals.

In the United States, members of the Keep Antibiotics Working coalition want the federal government to study whether the use of human antibiotics in farm animals is contributing to an increase in MRSA infections and deaths among people.

"Identifying and controlling community sources of MRSA is a public health priority of the first order. Are livestock farmers and farms in the United States also sources? We don't know for sure, because the U.S. government is not systematically testing U.S. livestock for MRSA," Richard Wood, steering committee chair of Keep Antibiotics Working, said in a prepared statement.

In 2005, MRSA infections killed nearly 19,000 people in the United States, compared to 17,000 HIV/AIDS deaths, according to results of a study published last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Mattel Recalls Fisher-Price Kitchen Toys

Mattel Inc. announced Tuesday that it's recalling more than 172,000 Fisher-Price "Learning Kitchen" toys in the United States and Europe after several children choked and gagged on small parts that came off the Mexican-made toys. Parents should immediately take the toys -- which feature a sink, refrigerator and a range -- away from children, said the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

There have been 48 reports of small parts detaching from the toys. One child who was choking on a part was saved by a person using the Heimlich maneuver. Another child started choking, and two children gagged on toy parts in their mouths, the Associated Press reported.

The toys -- sold between May and October of this year -- included 155,000 affected units in the United States, 7,000 in Britain, 4,900 in Italy, 4,900 in Germany and 394 in Austria. U.S. consumers in can get a free repair kit by calling Fisher-Price at 888-812-7187.

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Home-Based Antibiotic Therapy Effective: Study

A short course of high-dose oral amoxicillin antibiotic given at home is as effective in treating severe pneumonia in children as hospital inpatient intravenous (IV) antibiotic treatment, says a study that included more than 2,000 children at seven sites in Pakistan.

The findings suggest that home/community-based oral antibiotic therapy could dramatically reduce treatment costs, increase access to timely care, and decrease rates of pneumonia-associated deaths.

"This study has major public health and health policy implications for the treatment of acute respiratory infections, which account for more than two million deaths in children under five years of age globally," lead investigator Dr. LeAnne Fox, former assistant professor of International Health at Boston University School of Public Health, said in a prepared statement.

"Many children in the developing world are not effectively referred to hospitals, or they simply don't have easy access to a facility and the costs of transportation are prohibitive, so being able to provide effective treatments and monitoring at home is critical," she said.

The study was presented Tuesday in Philadelphia at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

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