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

Antidepressants Don't Raise Risk of Child Suicides: Experts

A class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) work effectively in people younger than 18 and don't raise their risk of suicidal behavior, a task force of experts concludes.

The finding is sure to continue the seesaw debate over how safe these drugs are for children, because other experts have come down hard against some SSRIs.

The panel was convened by the elite American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACN), following research released last year that cited a possible link between SSRIs and suicidal behavior, reports Newsday.

Last fall, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended against the use of one SSRI, Paxil, in people under 18. Several months earlier, British authorities banned the use of Paxil by young people, though it still permits use of another SSRI, Prozac, among minors, Newsday reports.

The ACN panel, comprised of experts in child psychology and suicidal behavior, analyzed prior studies on SSRIs involving a total of 2,000 young people. It found strong evidence that the drugs reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety and posed no greater risk of suicidal thoughts or actions, the newspaper says.

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Vietnam: Chickens Exposed to Bird Flu Sold to Public

Vietnam now acknowledges that as many as 900,000 chickens that may have been exposed to the deadly avian (bird) influenza virus may have been sold to the public, the Associated Press reports.

Bird flu has killed five people in Vietnam -- the only country with confirmed human cases -- and has ravaged poultry farms throughout Asia. Millions of chickens have been slaughtered in an attempt to curb the growing epidemic.

The disease may to have spread to people in nearby Thailand, where a young boy reportedly has tested positive for the illness and three others are being evaluated, the AP reports Wednesday. The Thai government, however, denies that any of the cases has been confirmed.

The World Health Organization says it's working overtime to develop a vaccine for the illness, but concedes it could be months or years before it's ready.

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Doctors Remove 175-Pound Tumor

An international team of doctors has successfully removed a 175-pound tumor from a 47-year-old Romanian woman who suffers from a genetic disorder that causes huge tumors to grow, BBC News Online reports.

Lucica Bunghez now weighs about one-third of what she did before the 10-hour surgery at a Bucharest hospital. The tumor had covered most of her back and had run halfway down her thighs, the BBC says. She suffers from the rare disorder von Recklinghausen's disease.

University of Chicago reconstructive specialist Dr. McKay McKinnon led the team of surgeons, who performed the surgery for free after the Romanian government said it couldn't afford the $300,000 it would have cost to send Bunghez to the United States for the operation.

The Guinness Book of World Records lists the largest tumor to ever be removed as weighing 302 pounds, reports the BBC, without providing details.

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Unsold FluMist Doses Donated to Health Agencies

The makers of the first intranasal flu vaccine, facing disappointing sales even in what has been the worst flu season in years, says it will donate 250,000 unsold doses to public health agencies.

A spokesman for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which co-markets FluMist with MedImmune Inc., told the Washington Post that the donation was "the right thing to do" in light of a shortage of needle-based flu vaccine this season.

Thus far, the agencies have accepted about 45,000 doses.

Analysts told the Post that the move was also a concession to disappointing sales of FluMist in its first season on the market. The companies last fall rolled out the vaccine with a $25 million marketing campaign and expected to sell 4 million to 5 million doses.

According to the Post, only 400,000 doses had been sold by the end of December. One problem is the price: At $46 per dose, it's three times more expensive than a flu shot. Another problem is that its sales were restricted to healthy people between 5 and 49 years old because it contains a live, though weakened, virus.

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Study Warns of Blood Clot 'Crisis'

A new study says that deep-vein thrombosis (DVT), a potentially deadly clot also known as economy class syndrome, is not getting the attention it deserves among those who aren't flying.

According to a USA Today account, doctors should be doing more to prevent DVT, especially among immobile hospital patients. According to the study, appearing in the latest issue of the American Journal of Cardiology, 71 percent of all people who suffer from DVT did not get preventive care.

Simple measures like drugs and stockings that improve leg circulation can cut the risk of getting a blood clot by two-thirds, according to USA Today.

""This is a public health crisis," Dr Samuel Goldhaber, a DVT expert and cardiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, told the newspaper.

The condition begins when clots form in the large veins in the legs, especially after periods of immobility. It may cause leg cramps, but almost half of the estimated 2 million people a year who have DVT display no symptoms.

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Remedies Interfere With Cancer Treatment

Cancer patients are compromising their health by taking herbal remedies that get in the way of conventional treatment.

The BBC reports that many cancer patients ingest cod liver oil, St. John's wort, and garlic, which pose a risk of side effects if they're also on medications.

A new study appearing in the British Journal of Cancer surveyed 300 cancer patients, and found that half of them took herbal supplements. However, fewer than half told the doctor overseeing their conventional treatment, according to the BBC account.

Only a third of the patients knew the purpose of the alternative medicine they were taking, and 11 percent took higher amounts than the recommended doses.

The report says that garlic and cod liver oil are anticoagulants, and may exacerbate the effect of blood-thinning drugs often given to patients. Garlic, meanwhile, can interfere with chemotherapy, according to the study.

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