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

FDA Cuts Inspections of Labs Testing Medical Devices

Enforcement of federal quality regulations at labs that develop medical devices has been scaled back by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a Project on Government Oversight report.

The independent watchdog group found that FDA inspections of "good laboratory practices" at facilities that do early testing of medical devices such as pacemakers, stents and imaging machines declined from 33 in 2005, to seven in 2007, to one in 2008, the Associated Press reported. No FDA inspections are planned for this year.

"The decision ... to not enforce [lab standards] is stunning in its contempt for the protection of patients," the group said in its report.

By focusing its enforcement on clinical trials that involve people, and not on early medical device testing in labs, the FDA says it can make better use of scarce resources and still protect the public, the AP reported.

Critics disagree. "This decision ... may result in an irreversible cascade of adverse consequences to the protection of the public," the Society of Quality Assurance said in a letter to Congress.

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HIV/AIDS Deadliest Infectious Disease in China

HIV/AIDS is now the leading infectious disease-related cause of death in China, according to the state news agency Xinhua .

Between January and September 2008, AIDS killed 6,897 people. Since China reported its the first AIDS death in 1985, 34,864 people have died of the disease, caused by HIV infection. Previously the third deadliest infectious disease in the country, HIV/AIDS is now followed by tuberculosis, rabies, hepatitis and infant tetanus, according to a Xinhua reported cited by the Associated Press.

The Chinese news agency said Ministry of Health figures show that the number of confirmed HIV infections increased from 135,630 in 2005 to 264,302 from January to September 2008.

The actual number of HIV-infected people in China may actually be about 700,000, according to government and outside estimates, the AP reported. The discrepancy between official and estimated numbers is due in part to people's reluctance to be tested for HIV. The government estimates that 85,000 of those 700,000 people have full-blown AIDS.

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Food Banks Throwing Out Thousands of Pounds of Recalled Food

U.S. food banks are throwing out thousands of pounds of food products recalled in the nationwide salmonella outbreak linked to Peanut Corp. of America.

The discarded products include peanut butter, cereals, cookies, nut mixes and granola bars, items which are vital to food banks because of their long shelf life and durability, the Associated Press reported.

The Houston Food Bank has thrown out 3,000 pounds of recalled products. The Cleveland Food Clinic has tossed out 1,000 pounds of food and has put another several thousands pounds of food on snacks on hold until the recall list is finalized. More than 1,300 pounds of food has been discarded or quarantined at the Food Finders Food Bank Inc. in Lafayette, Ind.

"At a time when food banks are struggling, everything inevitably has an impact," Karen Ponza, spokeswoman for the Cleveland Food Clinic, told the AP.

So far, more than 1,900 products have been recalled due to the salmonella outbreak, which has sickened nearly 600 people and caused nine deaths.

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Counterfeit Toothbrushes Pose Choking Hazard

Counterfeit toothbrushes that pose a choking hazard have been distributed across Canada and consumers should check their toothbrushes to make sure they're authentic, says Health Canada.

The agency said it has received at least one report of a counterfeit product's bristles becoming dislodged and caught in a person's throat, CBC News reported.

The counterfeit toothbrushes are labeled as Colgate Navigator, Colgate Massager, Colgate 360, the Oral B Classic 40 and Oral B Contura.

Authentic Colgate toothbrushes can be identified by the packaging, labeled in English and French only, that states "Distr. by/par: Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc." They also have a lot code molded into the brush handle just under the brush head, CBC News reported.

Genuine Oral B brushes can be identified by the Oral B logo manufactured as part of the handle, while the fake versions may have the logo printed in silver test across a peel-away label.

Consumers who suspect they have a counterfeit brush should stop using it immediately, Health Canada said.

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U.K. Confirms First Case of Human Mad Cow Disease in Hemophilia Patient

The first case of the human form of mad cow disease in a hemophilia patient has been confirmed by the U.K.'s Health Protection Agency (HPA).

The male victim, who was over 70 years old, received plasma products before rules were introduced to limit contagion. A post-mortem showed he had variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), but he showed no symptoms of the disease while alive and died of other causes, BBC News reported.

This is the first confirmed case of vCJD in up to 4,000 hemophiliac patients in the U.K. who received blood plasma transfusions between 1980 and 2001. They've been told they have a low risk of developing the disease.

"This new finding may indicate that what was until now a theoretical risk may be an actual risk to certain individuals who have received blood plasma products, although the risk could still be quite low," Prof. Mike Catchpole of the HPA's Centre for Infections told BBC News. "We recognize that this finding will be of concern for persons with hemophilia who will be awaiting the completion of the ongoing investigations and their interpretation."

This is the first case of vCJD involving plasma products, but blood transfusions have been linked to three vCJD deaths in the U.K. Most of the 164 vCJD deaths in the U.K. are believed to have been caused by eating meat infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).

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