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

China Confirms First SARS Death in 9 Months

A 53-year-old woman who died in China's Anhui province last week succumbed to SARS, the Ministry of Health confirmed Friday. It represented the world's first known death from the disease in nine months and the first person to die during China's mini-outbreak that is thought to have begun when two researchers in a Beijing SARS lab became ill last month.

The confirmation brings the total number of verified cases to five, with four additional suspected cases, CNN reported. No additional suspected cases had been identified in the 24 hours ending Friday morning, the Ministry of Health said.

Travelers throughout the country were being checked for SARS symptoms of fever and cough before being allowed to board trains or planes, the Associated Press reported. Some 90 million Chinese are expected to travel during the weeklong May Day holiday that begins Saturday.

Experts from the World Health Organization are in Beijing to investigate the apparent security lapses that led the original lab workers to become infected.

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Recalled Espresso Machines May Burst Under Pressure

Hamilton Beach is recalling 20,160 espresso/cappuccino makers that could burst under pressure during use if the frothing nozzle becomes clogged, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The recall involves Hamilton Beach Cappuccino Plus units, model number 40714, which is printed on the bottom of the unit. The company has received 10 reports of burst steam tubes, one of which caused a minor burn. Discount department stores and Internet retailers nationwide sold the product from March 2003 to March 2004 for about $70. For information on how to receive a free replacement, contact the company at 800-672-5872 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

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3rd Porn Actor Tests Positive for HIV

Another adult-film performer in Los Angeles has tested positive for the AIDS-causing HIV virus, the third infection reported in 2 1/2 weeks, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The unidentified actress had already been on a "quarantine list" of those who were known to have performed with one of the previously infected actors, the newspaper said. Much of southern California's porn industry shut itself down for 60 days beginning two weeks ago, when it was announced that actor Darren James and a female co-star had tested positive for the virus.

The quarantine list contains the names of more than 50 potentially infected performers, the Times reported. It was put together by an industry-based nonprofit group called the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation (AIM).

The group recommends that performers undergo monthly testing before producers would allow the actors to work. It's unknown how many adult-film companies enforce such a requirement.

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SUVs Cited in Highest Traffic Death Rate Since 1990

U.S. government figures show that the number of fatalities in vehicle crashes was the highest since 1990, and officials said the increasing number of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) was partly to blame.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 43,220 deaths on the nation's highways in 2003, up from 42,815 in 2002.

Fatalities in passenger cars declined, but deaths in SUVs increased 11 percent, according to NHTSA figures. Fifty-five percent of the deaths in SUVs were the result of rollover crashes, which "was partially accounted for by increases in SUV sales," a government statement said. Motorcycle fatalities rose 11 percent.

Overall, the number of injuries declined 1 percent in 2003, bolstered by a 2.8 percent decrease in passenger cars. However, injuries from SUVs and other light trucks, like vans and pickups, rose 2.3 percent.

The NHTSA report found that 58 percent of those killed were not wearing safety belts. The number of alcohol-related deaths in 2003 was unchanged.

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Medicare Urges Waiting Before Choosing Drug Card

Medicare officials are urging senior citizens to wait a few days or weeks before choosing a drug discount card because they expect continued competition that would result in falling prices.

USA Today reported that the government has begun pushing a Web site and a toll-free telephone number (800-MEDICARE) to help seniors decide whether to sign up for the program and which of the 73 available cards is best.

On the site, seniors will learn how much the cards will cost, and there will also be card-to-card comparisons of prescription drug prices, the paper reported.

Those comparisons may prompt card sponsors to drop their prices to attract more customers. "We may well see some downward changes over the next couple of weeks," Dr. Mark McClellan, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told USA Today.

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Spinach May Offer Blindness Treatment

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee are hoping to come up with a garden-variety treatment for blindness: spinach.

New Scientist reports that the researchers plan to add light-absorbing pigments from spinach to nerve cells in the retina. The hope is that the nerve cells fire when hit by light.

A team led by Eli Greenbaum has shown that adding plant pigments to human cells makes the cells respond to light. Even if successful, however, the experiment would only partly restore vision, and subjects would be color-blind.

Greenbaum told New Scientist, however, that it could provide far better resolution than the electronic retinal implants being developed. Retinal implants are offered to people suffering from degenerative eye diseases like retinitis pigmentosa.

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