Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
'Jeopardy!' Host Recuperating From Removal of Clots in Brain
"Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek said Thursday that he is recovering from surgery to remove blood clots from his brain.
In a video filmed from his home, the game show icon added that taping of the show will be suspended briefly while he recuperates, NBC News reported.
The 77-year-old has hosted the highly popular quiz show for more than 33 years.
According to Trebek, the clots were discovered in December following a bad fall in October.
In a statement to NBC News, show producer Sony Pictures Entertainment said Trebek was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Dec. 15 and had the clot-removal surgery the next day.
"He is expected to make a full and complete recovery," the statement said. "Alex spent Christmas at home with his family, and he will return to the 'Jeopardy!' studio for taping in mid-January."
Since the show is taped in advance, Sony said it had plenty of unaired episodes to run. The only schedule change would be to delay the show's annual college championship to April.
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Romaine Lettuce Suspected in E. Coli Illnesses
A rash of serious illnesses link to E. coli infections across the United States and Canada is perhaps tied to tainted romaine lettuce, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a recent statement on the cases, the agency said that, beginning Nov. 15, seventeen cases of a particularly severe strain of the gastrointestinal infection have occurred across 13 states. California was hit with three cases, Connecticut and New Hampshire with two cases each, and there was one case each reported in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont and Washington state.
A similar strain has also sickened people in multiple Canadian provinces, the CDC noted. Preliminary genetic testing suggests the same strain -- and potentially same food source -- may be responsible for all the cases.
"The Public Health Agency of Canada has identified romaine lettuce as the source of the outbreak in Canada," the CDC said in the statement. "In the United States, state and local public health officials are interviewing sick people to determine what they ate in the week before their illness started. CDC is still collecting information to determine whether there is a food item in common among sick people, including leafy greens and romaine."
Until romaine lettuce is either confirmed or ruled out as the culprit, "CDC is unable to recommend whether U.S. residents should avoid a particular food," the agency said. "This investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released as it becomes available."
