Health Highlights: March 8, 2020

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

Ikea Recalls 820,000 Chests Due to Tipping Hazard

About 820,000 Kullen 3-drawer chests sold by Ikea have been recalled in the United States because they pose a tip-over and entrapment hazard if not properly anchored to the wall, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) says.

It said children could be at risk of serious injury or death and that Ikea has received six reports of tip-over incidents involving chests that were not anchored to the wall, including one that resulted in a minor cut and one that resulted in minor cuts and bruises.

About 150,000 of the chests were also sold in Canada and have been recalled.

Consumers should immediately stop using the Kullen 3-drawer chest if it’s not properly anchored to the wall and place it in an area not accessible to children, and contact Ikea for either a full refund or a free wall-attachment (anchor) kit, CPSC said.

Two months ago, Ikea agreed to pay $46 million to the parents of a toddler killed by one of the company’s Malm dressers in California in 2017. The company recalled about 17.3 million Malm chest and drawers in 2016 and 2017, CBS News reported.

At least 89 people, mostly children, in the United States were killed in furniture tip-overs from 2014 to 2018, according to the CPSC. It said that death toll is likely to rise once reporting for the period is complete, CBS News reported.

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Pet Dogs and Cats Can’t Pass New Coronavirus to People: Experts

Pet dogs and cats can’t pass the new coronavirus to people, but they can test positive for low levels of the virus if they catch it from their owners, officials say.

A dog in quarantine had weak positive test results for the new coronavirus on Feb. 27, Feb. 28 and March 2, according to Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the Associated Press reported.

“There is currently no evidence that pet animals can be a source of infection of COVID-19 or that they become sick,” an unidentified spokesman for the department said in a news release.

This is likely a case of human-to-pet transmission of the new coronavirus, agree experts from the School of Public Health of The University of Hong Kong, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences of the City University of Hong Kong and the World Organization for Animal Health, the AP reported.

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