Health Highlights: April 7, 2014

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

Scientists Mapping Genes of Germs That Cause Foodborne Illness

U.S. scientists are working to map the DNA of bacteria and viruses that cause foodborne illness and other types of outbreaks.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently received $30 million from Congress to expand the use of genome sequencing of harmful bacteria and viruses with a program called advanced molecular detection, the Associated Press reported.

The technology has already shown its value by helping solve a listeria outbreak that killed one person in California and sickened seven others in Maryland.

“This really is a new way to find and fight infections,” CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden told the AP. “One way to think of it is, is it identifying a suspect by a lineup or by a fingerprint?”

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Guinea Screening Airline Passengers

All passengers departing from the airport in Guinea’s capital city Conakry are required to have their temperature taken and to fill out a health form, officials say.

The rules are part of the West African nation’s effort to fight the spread of the deadly Ebola virus, which has killed 86 people in the country since an outbreak erupted in February, the Associated Press reported.

Passengers with a temperature higher than 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit) will be tested for the disease, according to Dr. Sakoba Keita, director of prevention at Guinea’s health ministry.

Doctors from the Pasteur Institute in France will observe boarding procedures at the airport, French Health Minister Marisol Touraine announced on the weekend, the AP reported.

Neighboring Liberia has had two confirmed Ebola deaths, and suspected cases of the hemorrhagic fever have also been reported in Mali.

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Mickey Rooney Dies at Age 93

Film and stage legend Mickey Rooney died Sunday at age 93.

He died at his home in Los Angeles, and his death was confirmed by Los Angeles Police Commander Andrew Smith and the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Rooney died of natural causes, his daughter-in-law Charlene Rooney told the Los Angeles Times. She added that the actor had recently flown to Vancouver, Canada for work in the upcoming film “Night at the Museum 3.”

Rooney was a toddler when he made his debut on the vaudeville stage in 1922 and became one of the top movie stars in the 1930s and early 40s.

In 2011, Rooney addressed Congress about elder abuse and revealed that he had been victimized by a family member, the Times reported.

“If elder abuse happened to me, Mickey Rooney, it can happen to anyone,” he testified.

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