Italy Health

Women wore black and cried mock tears as Tuscans mourned the Florentine beefsteak, their culinary glory that was to become illegal at midnight because of the "mad cow" scare. Butcher Dario Cecchini held a mock funeral and auctioned off the thick cuts of beef that include a piece of backbone, whose tissue is believed to harbor the agent that causes the brain-wasting disease. Several thousand people attended the funeral and benefit auction for a children's hospital.

Women wore black and cried mock tears as Tuscans mourned the Florentine beefsteak, their culinary glory that was to become illegal at midnight because of the "mad cow" scare. Butcher Dario Cecchini held a mock funeral and auctioned off the thick cuts of beef that include a piece of backbone, whose tissue is believed to harbor the agent that causes the brain-wasting disease. Several thousand people attended the funeral and benefit auction for a children's hospital.

Italian health officials said that a blue substance injected into some grapefruit in Rome was not poisonous, and they revoked a nationwide ban on sales of the fruit. Seizure of all grapefruit in Italy had been ordered following reports that six poisoned grapefruit were found in an apparent act of sabotage aimed at Israeli exports. But the ministry said that lab tests determined the substance was methylene blue, a non-toxic biological stain.

Now there's one sure way to escape Italian tax collectors: die. The Italian Cabinet on Friday abolished a regulation that said the dead were still responsible for the $50 annual health care tax in the year of their death. Health Minister Maria Pia Garavaglia, who issued the order creating the regulation July 30, conceded that there was no way to enforce the measure. She said she hoped family members and heirs would pay the tax, which sought to bring in $19 million a year from the deceased.

The health benefits of using olive oil instead of butter may extend beyond controlling cholesterol, according to a study published today that suggests olive oil may also help hold down blood pressure and glucose in the blood. The study, in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., comes at a time of growing interest in the advantages of so-called monounsaturated fats. Some researchers suspect that those oils may prove more useful than vegetable oils in preventing heart disease.

Now there's one sure way to escape Italian tax collectors: die. The Italian Cabinet on Friday abolished a regulation that said the dead were still responsible for the $50 annual health care tax in the year of their death. Health Minister Maria Pia Garavaglia, who issued the order creating the regulation July 30, conceded that there was no way to enforce the measure. She said she hoped family members and heirs would pay the tax, which sought to bring in $19 million a year from the deceased.

Italy's Health Ministry on Thursday imposed a three-month ban on several types of silicone gel breast implants to allow further scientific study of the devices. Authorities said the ban applied only to several models in which it appeared the gel might be able to leak. The ministry did not name any implant manufacturer in its description of devices covered by the measure.

Singing as they rowed, two 60-year-old Italians completed the first known crossing of the English Channel in a gondola. Vittorio Orio and Enzo Liszka set off from Dover on the south coast of Britain at 6 a.m. A little over seven hours later, they arrived in Calais, France, about 22 miles away. "We both feel fine," Liszka said, adding that there had been heavy fog along the way. "We sang lots of Venetian songs to keep us amused."

A state-run home for the disabled where 19 patients died in a midnight blaze was made of highly flammable material and should have been torn down years ago, Italian authorities said Sunday. The victims were all the more vulnerable because of their ailments and their isolation. All suffered from mental illnesses or motor neuron disease, which would have made it hard for them to react to any emergency, and their facility in rural southern Italy was 45 miles from the nearest fire department.

Europe's deadly heat wave claimed more than 2,000 lives in countries outside France, where an estimated 10,000 have died, according to official reports. Italy, which had refused to release figures, bowed to public outcry over increased deaths and agreed Friday to investigate the toll. Associated Press compiled reports from hospitals and local and national governments about the deaths from 18 countries.

The health benefits of using olive oil instead of butter may extend beyond controlling cholesterol, according to a study published today that suggests olive oil may also help hold down blood pressure and glucose in the blood. The study, in the Journal of the American Medical Assn., comes at a time of growing interest in the advantages of so-called monounsaturated fats. Some researchers suspect that those oils may prove more useful than vegetable oils in preventing heart disease.

Italian health officials said that a blue substance injected into some grapefruit in Rome was not poisonous, and they revoked a nationwide ban on sales of the fruit. Seizure of all grapefruit in Italy had been ordered following reports that six poisoned grapefruit were found in an apparent act of sabotage aimed at Israeli exports. But the ministry said that lab tests determined the substance was methylene blue, a non-toxic biological stain.

Alarmed by freewheeling artificial insemination and the growth of unregulated fertility clinics, Italian doctors have waded into a legal vacuum that has made biogenetic ethics a national controversy. A 62-year-old woman had a child last year after a donor's eggs were fertilized by her husband's sperm and implanted in her uterus. Rosanna Della Corte enjoys being a "granny mom." Now, at 63, she wants another baby.

U.S. regulators moved quickly Tuesday to ban imports of live hogs and all uncooked animal products from the European Union, temporarily shutting down more than $300 million in annual trade, after France reported Europe's first recent case of foot-and-mouth disease outside of Britain. Although foot-and-mouth does not pose a health risk to humans, it is deadly to cattle, sheep and hogs. It has no cure and travels so rapidly that entire herds and flocks must be destroyed to prevent its spread.