3 transplant recipients die from donor's rabies

3 transplant recipientsdie from donor's rabies
ATLANTA -- Three people died of rabies after receiving infected organs from the same donor in what the government says are the first documented cases of the disease being spread through organ transplants.
Federal agencies are looking into whether transplant organs should be screened for the rabies virus.
The lungs, kidneys and liver of an Arkansas man who died in May were donated to four patients in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. Three of them died of rabies; the fourth, in Alabama, died of complications during surgery, the CDC said.
The donor had shown no symptoms of rabies before his death from a brain hemorrhage, said Dr. Mitchell Cohen, director of the CDC coordinating center for infectious diseases.
While these are the first known cases of rabies being spread through donated organs, at least eight people have contracted the virus through cornea transplants, the CDC said. Rabies testing is not routinely done on U.S. organ donors, although there are routine screenings for other diseases, including hepatitis B and C, HIV and syphilis.
Powell remains hopefulover nuke talks' progress
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Secretary of State Colin Powell told North Korea's top diplomat during a meeting today he was hopeful international negotiations begun last year could yield "concrete progress" toward nuclear disarmament in the communist state.
In a North Korean statement issued after the meeting, Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun was reported to have said he shares Powell's goal of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. But he rejected a U.S. requirement that his country show a serious commitment to disarmament before it can receive economic benefits from Washington.
Powell and Paek are here for the annual summer meeting of foreign ministers from the Asia-Pacific region.
The unannounced, 20-minute U.S.-North Korean encounter was held shortly after 8 a.m. at a conference center.
In Turkey, bomb strikesgovernor's convoy, kills 5
ISTANBUL, Turkey -- A bomb struck the convoy of a governor in eastern Turkey today, killing five people and wounding 24, NTV television reported. The governor said he was not hurt.
The Anatolia news agency reported that a truck bomb struck Van regional governor Hikmet Tan's convoy but didn't wound him. Private NTV television, however, said the blast was caused by a remote controlled bomb.
"It seems that my car was the target. Right now I'm in good shape," Tan told NTV, adding that his car was heavily damaged. He said five people were killed.
NTV reported that two of the dead were bystanders. National Police Spokesman Ramazan Er said police suspected that Kurdish rebels were behind the attack.
'Body Worlds' exhibitopens in California
LOS ANGELES -- A pregnant woman lies on her side with a hand behind her head as if posing for a nude photograph. But her body isn't the only thing exposed. Her heart, intestines and 8-month-old fetus are visible as well.
The woman was one of more than 200 people who donated their cadavers for use in "Body Worlds: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies," which makes its U.S. debut today at the California Science Center.
Intended to teach people about human skeletal, cardiovascular and other systems, the final exhibit includes 25 bodies that have undergone a process called plastination, in which body fluids are replaced with clear, pliable plastic.
Most have been skinned or dissected to reveal muscles, bones, nerves and organs. Some show damage done by illnesses such as cancer and lung disease.
Since debuting in Tokyo in 1996, the show has aroused controversy as well as curiosity. Its shocking display of flesh and bones has offended many observers who claim it violates the sanctity of the human body.
However, German scientist Gunther von Hagens, who created the exhibit and the preservation technique, defends his work as educational and enlightening.
"It's more than time that we show how the body really looks," he said.
In the past eight years, "Body Worlds" has toured Asia and Europe, attracting nearly 15 million visitors and a number of critics who have dubbed von Hagens "Dr. Death" and "Frankenstein" because of his work.
Associated Press