Your health

Bacteria magnet:

Besides the goats, lambs and ponies at the petting zoo, your child stands a chance of meeting E. coli, salmonella, cryptosporidium and campylobacter.

These bacteria live in the intestinal tracts of some animals and are shed in the animal's feces. People can become very sick when the bacteria get onto their hands, food or drink.

Between 1991 and 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked at least 55 outbreaks of intestinal disease linked to petting zoos and other animal attractions.

To find out what's going wrong, last year researchers in Ontario, Canada sent an observer to 36 petting zoos. He found 94 percent of the zoos offered hand-washing stations, but only 30 percent of patrons used the facilities.

Another bad sign: at 82 percent of the zoos, people were eating and drinking. People also brought baby bottles, pacifiers and baby toys into the petting zoos -- a big no-no.

Vote for health:

If health care will factor into your vote in the 2008 presidential election, check out a new Web site by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

At health08.org, you'll find analysis of health policy issues, summaries of reform proposals and synthesis of news coverage about health and the campaign. The site is free of advertising.

Kaiser's polls have found health care is the top domestic issue for American voters, trailing only Iraq on their overall priority list.

Saline saves your nose:

Spraying salty water into your nose calms the pain and congestion that accompany long-term nasal infections, according to a review by The Cochrane Collaboration, an organization that evaluates medical research.

Between 5 percent and 15 percent of people have chronic rhinosinusitis. Saline might not replace standard therapies, but it will help symptoms, say researchers at the University of Oxford who reviewed 24 studies.

Saline softens mucus, making it easier to remove. It might also wash bacteria, viruses and other allergic materials out of the nose.

-- Susan Stevens