Health Highlights: Dec. 13, 2016

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

Lawsuit Filed Against Texas Fetal Remains Disposal Rules

A lawsuit was filed Monday against a new Texas law that would force abortion facilities to have fetal remains buried or cremated.

The legal action against the law, scheduled to take effect Dec. 19, was launched by the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights, CBS News reported.

Similar measures in Louisiana and Indiana were blocked by legal challenges.

The new Texas rules mandating burial or cremation of fetal remains were first proposed just days after the U.S. Supreme Court largely voided the state’s tough anti-abortion laws, CBS News reported.

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U.S. Mumps Cases at 10-Year High: CDC

Mumps cases in the United States are at a 10-year high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of November, a total of 2,879 mumps infections had been reported in 45 states and the District of Columbia, more than twice the number of mumps cases reported in 2015.

A growing number of schools and colleges are dealing with mumps outbreaks. For example, the University of Missouri’s Columbia campus has confirmed 193 cases since the start of school in late August, CBS News reported.

One reason mumps can spread easily at colleges is dormitory living, according to Dr. Michael Grosso, medical director and CMO of Huntington Hospital/Northwell Health.

“It’s spread through respiratory secretions, coughing, sneezing, close contact and sharing the same cups and utensils,” he told CBS News.

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Judge to Consider ConAgra Plea in Tainted Peanut Butter Case

A $11.2 million plea deal between federal prosecutors and ConAgra over tainted peanut butter will be considered by a federal judge Tuesday.

The company’s Peter Pan peanut butter was linked to a salmonella outbreak in 2007 that sickened at least 625 people in 47 states.

The proposed deal to settle the criminal case against ConAgra was reached last year. It includes an $8 million fine, which officials say would be the largest criminal fine ever in a U.S. food safety case, the Associated Press reported.

At the hearing Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands will decide whether to finalize the settlement.

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