Patrons of a Biltmore, Arizona Cheesecake Factory Restaurant may have been exposed to Hepatitis A, a potentially dangerous food borne infection. Last week, the Maricopa County Health Department announced that a worker at the restaurant had tested positive for the disease, and there is a chance that Hepatitis A could have been transmitted to some customers who ate at the Cheesecake Factory on July 20. So far, no other cases of Hepatitis A have been reported, and health officials in Arizona believe that the chance of transmission is low.

Hepatitis A is a contagious liver infection. The virus is found in the stool of infected people, and can be spread if they do not wash their hands thoroughly after using the bathroom. Symptoms of Hepatitis A include low-grade fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, rash, yellowing of the skin, dark brown urine, loss of appetite and fatigue. Symptoms of Hepatitis A can last from two to nine months. Most people who contract Hepatitis A make a full recovery, however, in some rare instances the disease can progress to the point of causing liver failure or even death.

(more…)

Those hardest hit by the Con Edison steam pipe explosion in New York City will be getting some help from the federal government. Meanwhile, a dentist has filed a second lawsuit against Con Edison, and the utility company has agreed to allow two insurance companies that expect to be inundated with explosion-related claims to observe cleanup of the blast site.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will make disaster loans available to businesses impacted by the July 18 explosion and subsequent road closures. Businesses can apply for low-interest SBA loans up to $1.5 million to replace or repair their establishments, equipment and inventory. The money can also be used to cover the cost of improvements designed to protect a business against future similar events. Homeowners in the area can apply for loans up to $200,000 to pay for repairs to real estate and $40,000 to replace or repair damaged possessions.

(more…)

Once again, Baxter HealthCare Corporation has revealed problems with several models of its infusion pumps. In the span of a just few days, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) ordered two separate recalls for the pumps; and in one instance, patients treated with these pumps may have been endangered because of fraud committed at the company’s Phoenix service center.

Electronic infusion pumps deliver life-sustaining medications and fluids to patients through intravenous, intra-arterial, or epidural routes of administration. On July 27, the FDA announced that in June, it had ordered a Class I recall of 534 COLLEAGUE and Flo-Gard infusion pumps that had been returned to the company for repair. In a press release, Baxter said that during routine quality control inspections it was discovered that the pumps could have been returned to customers without ever having been repaired. During the inspection, Baxter found that repair, testing and inspection data sheets for the pumps had been falsified. The company said that it had dismissed three employees implicated in the fraud. Baxter did not say how this fraud was allowed to occur.

(more…)

Shoulder surgery can be a particularly painful ordeal, and pain management is an important part of the treatment process. Intra-articular pain pumps are one of a number of techniques used for managing pain. Use of the pump is thought to prolong the effects of other numbing agents for several days. Unfortunately, this relief often comes at a cost. Evidence is growing that use of these devices has been associated with a painful condition called Postarthroscopic Glenohumeral Chondrolysis (PAGCL).

Intra-articular pain pumps are implanted into the shoulder joint during surgery and release pain medications directly to the joint. In most cases, the pumps do what they are meant to, and offer patients effective pain control. However, some patients experience PAGCL, a progressive loss of cartilage in the shoulder joint following this surgery. For a long time, physicians were unable to determine what caused this damage. Last year, one of the first studies to look at this problem was published. The study looked at the medical charts of 152 patients who had undergone anthroscopic shoulder surgeries. Twelve of the patients developed PAGCL, and all of them had received pain pumps during their surgeries. The use of the intra-articular pain pump was the only factor that the PAGCL patients had in common. While this analysis is not conclusive, it does point to a need for more investigation of this problem.

(more…)

Recalled chili sauce, hot dog sauce and other canned meat products manufactured by Castleberry’s Food Company are so infested with botulism that some of them are literally bursting. Word of the botulism laced bursting cans gives last week’s recall of 90 varieties of chili sauce, dog foods and other products a new urgency. That’s because unlike other food borne pathogens, botulism toxins can be absorbed through the skin and even inhaled. That means that even people who never ate the contaminated product could be at risk for the deadly illness.

There is also news that not all grocery stores have gotten word of the recall. The chili sauce as well as upwards of 90 other varieties of canned products produced by Castleberry were recalled over a week ago. So far, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has found recalled Castleberry’s products in about 350 stores. The botulism tainted products have shown up in stores in several states, including Florida, Kentucky, Montana, New York and Indiana. And in North Carolina, officials found 5,500 cans in stores there. Most have been found at gas stations, convenience stores and “mom and pop” groceries. The fact that these cans could rupture while in stores has health official worried, because that could potentially expose thousands of people to deadly botulism bacteria. The FDA is said that it is making efforts to more effectively disseminate news of the recall, and Castleberry’s has hired a company to assist with the removal of cans from stores.

(more…)

Unpaid overtime is at the heart of class action law suites filed in California against two high-tech giants this week. Sales specialists at IBM and information technology (IT) employees at Universal Music Group claim that the companies failed to pay their workers overtime as required by law. The IBM case alone could cost the company as much as $5 million.

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) employers must pay overtime to employees who work more than 40 hours per week. The rules do allow for some management positions to be classified as “exempt”, making them ineligible for overtime pay. Both the IBM and Universal employees claim that the companies illegally classified them as exempt as a way to avoid paying overtime. Both groups maintain that they are not management.

(more…)

Sara Lee Food & Beverage has issued a precautionary recall for several brands of the company’s whole wheat fresh bread products. The recall was ordered after the bread was found to contain small metal and plastic shards. As of now, the recalled products include more than two dozen varieties of Sara Lee breads.

Sara Lee said that it was working with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to get the bread off store shelves and away from consumers. All of the products were produced at the company’s Meridian, Mississippi bakery. There has been no word on how the foreign material got into the bread. No injuries related to the bread have yet been reported.

(more…)

President Bush might finally be getting some good news. A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine says that people can “catch” obesity from their friends. With approval ratings hovering around 30-percent, and some members of an increasingly-cranky Congress calling for his impeachment, it seem as though The Decider has very few friends left. It might be lonely at the top, but if the Journal study is correct, the President can at least take comfort in the fact that he should have no trouble maintaining his trim figure.

The study followed a social network of more than 12,000 people from 1971 through 2003. The investigators kept track of each subject’s friendships, spouses and neighbors. Investigators also recorded each person’s body weight at various intervals. The findings were surprising. If a friend became obese, a subject’s chances of following suit increased by 57-percent. Friends actually had a greater influence on a person’s body weight than their own family, while neighbor’s rates of obesity had no influence at all. Researchers found that the same held true for weight loss.

(more…)

Coffeyville Resources Refining & Marketing says that it is willing to buy back homes that sustained the most damage as a result of last month’s massive oil spill at the company’s refinery. Under the plan, qualified residents will be reimbursed for 110-percent of their homes pre-flood market value. The plan is likely an effort by Coffeyville Resources to mitigate its liability from the oil spill. Already, some residents have filed a class action lawsuit against the company for damages incurred because of the spill.

Coffeyville Resources estimates that approximately 300 homes would qualify for the program. To take advantage of the program, homeowners must contact the company within the next 30 days. Homes eligible for remediation are properties that Coffeyville Resources determined were the hardest hit by the oil spill. The company said that officials from the town of Coffeyville are behind the plan, as it provides the quickest way for the community of 11,000 people to get back on its feet.

(more…)

Yet another recall of Baxter Infusion Pumps has been issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This time, the recall covers 534 COLLEAGUE and Flo-Gard pumps that were returned to the company for repairs. It is possible that the repairs were never made. The FDA has classified this latest action a Class I recall.

In a press release, Baxter HealthCare Corporation said that infusion pumps, which are used to deliver intravenous fluids to patients, had been sent to its Phoenix, Arizona service center for repairs. During routine quality control inspections it was discovered that the pumps could have been returned to customers without ever having been repaired. During the inspection, Baxter found that repair, testing and inspection data sheets for the pumps had been falsified. The company said that it had dismissed three employees implicated in the fraud. The recall covers COLLEAGUE Volumetric Infusion pump 2M8151 and 2M8153; COLLEAGE CX Volumetric Infusion pump 2M8161 and 2M8163; and Flo-Gard Volumetric Infusion pump 2M8063 and 2M8064. Baxter said that it has made all of its customers aware of the recall.

(more…)