Health Highlights: Nov. 8, 2019

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

Rapper T.I. Slammed for Daughter’s Virginity Tests

There’s been widespread condemnation of rapper and actor T.I. after he said earlier this week that his daughter has yearly so-called virginity testing to check if her hymen is still intact, even though she is now 18.

There’s no evidence to support such a test and it’s a violation of a woman’s rights, critics say.

“A virginity exam does not exist,” Dr. Maura Quinlan, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University in Chicago, told The New York Times.

“If someone brought me a girl for a virginity exam, I would tell them, ‘I can’t say either way,'” she said.

“You can tell if someone has had a vaginal delivery, but to tell if someone has had vaginal intercourse is not possible,” Quinlan explained.

Not every girl is born with a hymen and “the presence or absence of a hymen does not indicate ‘virginity,'” according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The group says so-called virginity testing is not a valid medical procedure, The Times reported.

Virginity testing has no scientific or clinical basis, is unethical and should be banned, the World Health Organization says.

—–

Two Million Pounds of Chicken Recalled for Possible Metal Contamination

More than 2 million pounds of chicken products have been recalled by Simmons Prepared Foods because of possible contamination with metal.

In the recall, announced Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), health officials warned that there is a reasonable probability that consuming the chicken products “will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”

Among the recalled products are ready-to-cook chicken wing sections, tenderloins and whole legs. The products were packaged between Oct. 21 and Nov. 4. They were shipped to stores in Pennsylvania, California, Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Arizona and Arkansas, FSIS said.

At this point, “There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products,” the agency added. Those who may have consumed one of these products and are concerned should contact their doctor.

Concerned consumers can contact Donald Miller, senior vice president of sales at Simmons Prepared Foods Inc. at (888) 831-7007.