THURSDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials declared Thursday that the nationwide salmonella outbreak has ended and that the consumer advisory against eating raw jalapeno and serrano peppers grown in Mexico has been lifted.

"Based on the available information and reports, it appears that this outbreak is over," Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's division of foodborne, bacterial and mycotic diseases, said during a teleconference.

FRIDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News) -- A molecule that tames bacteria that cause gastroenteritis, tularemia and severe diarrhea has been identified by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

The finding, they say, could help in the development of new drugs to combat increasing microbial resistance to antibiotics.

The molecule LED209 blocks a bacterial receptor, called QseC sensor kinase, from biochemical signals from the host that trigger bacteria to release toxins and cause illness.

THURSDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials have widened their warning on peppers from Mexico after another salmonella-tainted sample, along with tainted irrigation water, was found at a second farm.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration now advises consumers to avoid all raw serrano peppers from Mexico, along with raw jalapenos from that country and all the foods that contain them, the agency announced late Wednesday night.

WASHINGTON - Only jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico seem to be implicated in the nationwide salmonella outbreak, the government announced Friday in clearing the U.S. crop.

The Food and Drug Administration urged consumers to avoid raw Mexican jalapenos and the serrano peppers often confused with them, or dishes made with them such as fresh salsa.

But the big question is how those who love hot peppers would know where the chiles came from, especially in restaurant food.

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- Four days after giving fresh tomatoes the all-clear signal, U.S. health officials are now pointing a warning finger at jalapeno peppers as the source of the ongoing salmonella outbreak.

A sample of jalapenos tainted with Salmonella saintpaul was found at a packing plant in Texas and came from a farm in Mexico, Dr. David Acheson, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's associate commissioner for foods, announced at a mid-afternoon teleconference Monday.

MONDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- Four days after giving fresh tomatoes the all-clear signal, U.S. health officials are now pointing a warning finger at jalapeno peppers as the source of the ongoing salmonella outbreak.

A sample of jalapenos tainted with Salmonella saintpaul was found at a packing plant in Texas and came from a farm in Mexico, Dr. David Acheson, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's associate commissioner for foods, announced at a mid-afternoon teleconference Monday.

WASHINGTON - Troubled by the tainted tomato scare, nearly half of Americans are concerned they may get sick from eating contaminated food and are avoiding items they normally would buy, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll has found.

Although three in four remain confident about the overall safety of foods, the poll found that consumers overwhelmingly support setting up a tracing system for produce in the wake of the salmonella outbreak first linked to tomatoes and, now, hot peppers.

THURSDAY, July 17 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials on Thursday dropped their warning against eating fresh tomatoes, as the toll in the ongoing salmonella outbreak reached 1,220 confirmed cases, with at least 242 people hospitalized.

"As of today, FDA officials believe that consumers may now enjoy all types of fresh tomatoes available on the domestic market without concern about becoming infected with Salmonella saintpaul bacteria," Dr. David Acheson, associate commissioner for foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said during a Thursday afternoon teleconference.

TUESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- The salmonella toll continues to mount in what has become the largest foodborne outbreak in the United States in more than a decade.

With the latest cases reported as of July 4, the nationwide toll from Salmonella Saintpaul now stands at 1,148 people in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Canada, according to the latest figures posted on the Web site of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At least 220 people have been hospitalized.

(HealthDay News) -- The number of people sickened in the ongoing salmonella outbreak has now surpassed 1,000, and while certain types of tomatoes remain the suspected cause, U.S. health officials on Wednesday added hot peppers and cilantro as potential suspects.

"We continue to get new reported cases every day," Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the division of foodborne, bacterial and mycotic diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a late afternoon teleconference. "This is the largest foodborne outbreak in the United States."