Governor Spitzer said that the NY State Department of Health's response regarding the Nassau County doctor exposed over 600 patients to hepatitis C and HIV was "unacceptably slow" and ordered an investigation. Dr. Harvey Finkelstein, an anesthesiologist, reused syringes and multiple-dose medicine vials between January 2000 and January 2005; some patients learned they had contracted hepatitis in 2005, but the state and Nassau County officials waited 34 months to contact other patients. It turns out......

With Halloween right around the dark, dank corner, the minds of small children are populated with blood thirsty vampires, hairy knuckled werewolves, and nebulous bogeymen. But as they try to sleep and shudder with thoughts of what's hiding in their closet and lurking under their beds, real monsters are on the loose: drug-resistant bacteria! And these so-called "superbugs" - including a bacterium linked to childhood ear infections that is resistant to up to 18 antibiotics......

Souvenirs are usually inanimate doodads, so we must update the story of the man who smuggled a pygmy marmoset from Peru under his hat. The monkey attracted attention not from airport screeners in Lima or in Fort Lauderdale (where Spirit Airlines Flight 180 connected) but from passengers on the flight to Laguardia who noticed the monkey hanging from the man's ponytail. Our favorite part of the story is how other passengers apparently asked the man......

A man being treated for a drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis and who was advised by the Centers for Disease Control not to travel was briefly quarantined at Bellevue Hospital after he sneaked back into the U.S. in an effort to evade a travel embargo. He is now being detained under armed guard in an Atlanta hospital. The patient, who was in consultation with the CDC prior to traveling to Europe and scheduled to receive advanced......

Yesterday we pointed out WCBS tip-sheet that reminded vacationers that the beach is a deadly minefield of hazards, potentially littered with actual explosives. Now, local ABC affiliate WABC has a piece pointing out the dangers of Memorial Day grilling. Salmonella, e. coli bacteria, and other causes of food poisoning tend to proliferate when people get relaxed about cooking cleanliness while grilling. The CDC reports that food-poisoning illnesses necessitate 300,000 hospitalizations a year and cause 5,000......

It shouldn't be a shock to anyone to hear that an executive at Starbucks has a better work environment than a lowly barista. Other than higher pay and a far sweeter benies package, Gothamist imagines the Starbucks executive enjoys a quiter, less asshole-ridden workday (maybe). While to hear that there is a 2-class system for nursing moms on the job there is not surprising, it is still disturbing. Whereas the executive has a comfy and......

Now that the transit strike is over, the city is asking various businesses if they have contingency plans for the next potential catastrophe - the avian flu. The Post reports that the Office of Emergency Management and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene are surveying various companies to see if they have a "pandemic-flu plan" or if they will allow telecommuting. Man, is this another thing Gothaimst has to ask our bosses about? The city......

On Sundays, Gothamist runs opinion pieces, mostly to amuse ourselves. Don't blame us for anything written below. Sounding like so much spam, my girlfriend received a message in her email last week entitled "RX!" The body of the note stated that "it wasn't a matter of if the avian flu is going to reach you, but when" and implored her to "visit [her] doctor this week!" and "get a prescription" because other countries are "already......

In the last two games Mariano Rivera pitched in, he has had two save opportunities and two blown saves. Last night, however, Rivera got the win against the Toronto Blue Jays while giving up two runs in the bottom of the 9th. With Carlos Delgado and Gregg Zaun in scoring position, Rivera fought to get two outs before giving up a game tying single. Lucky for Rivera, he didn't get saddled with the loss when......

More reason for Gothamist to invest in paper towels, but reconsider the soap futures: It turns out that while most New Yorkers wash their hands, many don't bother using soap to wash them. Hunter College students in a basic research methods class conducted a "nonscientific study" which showed: - 26.1% women used only water and no soap, compared with 33.7% men who used water but no soap - 7.4% women did not wash their hands......

The Mayor got a flu shot during his visit to a retirement home in Sunnyside Queens last week. The city has been encouraging New Yorkers to get their flu shots. You can get a flu shot from your doctor or a free one from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - call 1 866 FLU LINE (358 5463). The CDC on the influenza vaccine......

The CDC says there are 37 cases of monkeypox, mainly in the Midwest. The skin lesions from monkeypos-infected prairie dogs are disgusting (here's a picture), which is another reason Gothamist never wants to touch anything that bears a passing resemblance to a rodent. A family in Wisconsin was just quaratined: "They said we can't leave until the scabs fall off the sores," said Tammy Kautzer, 28, of nearby Dorchester in central Wisconsin. "I only have......

There are reportedly 20 cases of monkeypox, a smallpox like virus though less deadly and infectious, found in the Midwest. The Times reports that "several patients in the American outbreak work for veterinarians or pet stores that sold prairie dogs and Gambian rats." Pet prairie dogs, okay, Gothamist knows what those are, though we're iffy on the idea of having them as pets. But Gambian rats? The article says these rats "grow to the size......

Unfortunately, more cases of SARS are being reported and planes are being diverted and quarantined. Plus the Hong Kong Film Forum is now postponed. The Times details the economic and emotional panic the atypical flu is causing in Hong Kong. Yesterday, it had a clear graphic showing, Outbreak style, the spread of the SARS. The CDC is using its new $7million facility to investigate SARS.......