Saying No to Health Reform, Pesky Salmonella, Pertussis Stories and More: The ReportingonHealth Daily Briefing

Here's what we're reading and watching today:

Medical Errors: The Columbia Journalism Review lauds the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for publishing Jeremy Kohler's and Blythe Bernhard's  account of how difficult it was to investigate a Missouri surgeon who removed the wrong kidney from a patient in 2007.  

Health Reform: Missouri voters "just say no" to health reform as they vote to block the legislation's individual mandate to buy health insurance. Can that vote stand up in court? Um, probably not, as federal law trumps state law. California Healthline has a good overview of the national media coverage.

Pertussis: As California's whooping cough outbreak intensifies, people are sharing their experiences on the California Immunization Coalition's website, ShotByShot.org.

Salmonella: This pesky pathogen is still "befuddling" food safety scientists, 125 years after it was first discovered, according to a Food Safety News article. Apparently, salmonella bacteria can be found 40 miles into the atmosphere , seven miles under the ocean, and up to 24 feet underground. Sounds like it plans to stick around for a while.

Drug Shortages: A unexpectedly high number of drug shortages, including pain medications, could affect your health, according to an alert from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. The unanswered question: why is this happening now? Are these shortages affecting patients in your area?