Since January 1996, the Food and Drug Administration has allowed olestra's use only in snack chips and crackers. On Wednesday, an FDA advisory committee in suburban Washington, D.C., endorsed the safety of olestra. Two members declined to endorse the statement, and one abstained. The story adds that the FDA is not bound by the advisory committee's actions. The panel's conclusions Wednesday do not affect the FDA's 1996 final approval of olestra for snack chips and crackers, but the agency wanted the 30-month review to track market responses to olestra.
Rotaviruses are a major cause of severe diarrhoea in young children.
Most infected children with normal immune systems stop excreting rotaviruses in their faeces within ten days of the onset of symptoms. In this week's Lancet, however, Dr Simone Richardson and colleagues from Australia and New Zealand show that rotavirus excretion in children may continue for longer than was previously thought. The researchers carried out a study of rotavirus excretion in 37 children admitted to hospital with severe rotavirus diarrhoea. Excretion of rotavirus ranged from four to 57 days after onset of diarrhoea. Extended excretion was significantly associated with recurrence of mild diarrhoea during convalescence.