A study of sanitizing hand gels that have become popular with doctors and nurses turned up interesting results.  The Nebraska Medical Center’s found alcohol-based hand gels do not offer sufficient protection in killing germs and slowing the spread of hospital acquired infections.

Doctors and nurses will often skip soap and water in favor of hand gel believing that gels work quicker and better on killing bacteria than traditional soap and water; however, hand gels In the Nebraska Medical Center, medical workers nearly doubled their use of the alcohol-based gel but doing so had no impact in decreasing the rate of  hospital acquired infections among patients.  Dr. Mark Rupp, the doctor who let the study, pointed to a variety of issues, including rings and fingernails that are too long and hard to clean, poor catheter handling, and treatment areas that had not been sanitized.  “Hand hygiene is still important, but it’s not a panacea,” said Rupp, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. (more…)

Listeria-tainted popsicles are the latest food to be recalled because of the food-borne bug. Ca Rem #1 Ice Cream, SeaTac voluntarily recalled its coconut-flavored popsicles after it was discovered that the non-dairy frozen dessert may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.  The frozen treat recall was initiated when routine sampling and analysis by the Washington State Department of Agriculture revealed the presence of Listeria.  No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this product.

The Ca Rem #1 Popsicle is sold in 3-ounce un-coded plastic bags, primarily in Asian food markets and restaurants in western Washington and western Oregon.  Consumers who have purchased Ca Rem #1 popsicles should throw out the product and not eat it.  Questions can be directed to the company at 206-720-1887.
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Lawmakers investigating the defective drug Ketek have been forced to subpoena current and former Food & Drug Administration (FDA) officials.   A subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is trying to figure out how Ketek, one of the most dangerous antibiotics on the market, obtained FDA approval even though an FDA audit of Ketek clinical trials found several instances of fraud.

Ketek was approved by the FDA in 2004 to treat respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, sinusitis and community-acquired pneumonia.   Soon after its approval however, the FDA began to receive reports that Ketek was causing liver damage in some patients.   This past February, the FDA added black box warnings about liver damage to the Ketek label.  In total, the FDA had reports of at least 53 cases of liver damage linked to Ketek.  At least five of those cases were fatal, and one required a liver transplant.  The FDA also withdrew Ketek’s approval to treat sinusitis and bronchitis. (more…)

Dollar Tree stores has recalled mini glue guns because of a defect that causes the glue guns to short circuit.  According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), when this happens, the glue guns can cause fires, and users can experience serious injuries.

According to the CPSC, the Dollar Tree glue gun recall involves 253,000  “Crafters Square Hot Melt Mini Glue Guns” manufactured in China and imported by Greenbrier International Inc., of Chesapeake, Va.  The defective glue guns dispense hot glue, and are intended as a tool for craft projects. The recalled glue guns were sold at Dollar Tree, Dollar Bill$, Dollar Express, Greenbacks, Only One $1, and Deal$ stores nationwide from February 2007 through August 2007 for about $1. (more…)

Morgellons Disease, a mysterious disease marked by strange skin eruptions, if finally getting attention from researchers.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is paying California-based Kaiser Permanente $338,000 to test and interview patients suffering from Morgellons, a bizarre and recently emerging skin disorder.  The CDC began the collaborative study to determine whether Morgellons is a legitimate illness or patient imagination.  Both Kaiser and the CDC will gather information about the illness, including common symptoms, possible causes, and risk factors and will look only at patients in northern California, the state with the highest number of self-reported cases.

Biochemist Vitaly Citovsky of Stony Brook University has been studying Morgellons for a year.  A range of symptoms, including non-healing skin eruptions, characterizes the disorder, called Morgellons by some and fiber disease by others.  Patients report stringy, fibrous, and seed-like granules and/or black speck-like material emerging from lesions.  Lesions range from minor to disfiguring and may not heal.  “It’s not recognized officially as a medical condition,” Citovsky said Monday. “Our dermatology department does not recognize it.  Many people who are affected have bizarre, inconceivable symptoms.”  Citovsky said doctors have no idea whether to categorize it as a disease with a specific cause, a syndrome with several components, or an emotional problem. (more…)

A hotel fire at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut yesterday afternoon resulted in the evacuation of nearly 300 guests.  No one was injured as a result of the rooftop blaze at the Great Cedars Hotel at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, but the hotel is closed and will remain so for several days.

Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Great Cedar Hotel are owned and operated by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe. Great Cedar is the Mashantuckets’ second hotel and second casino, but it was the first to house both a hotel and a casino in the same building.
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Graco and Simplicity cribs, recalled in the fall of 2007, continue to be best sellers.  This despite the fact that the manufacturer, Simplicity Cribs, waited so long to recall the faulty cribs, which were implicated in the deaths of at several children.  Apparently, many parents still trust Simplicity and Graco cribs, even though Simplicity never issued refunds for the dangerous cribs, and took weeks to get repair kits to owners of the recalled Simplicity and Graco cribs.

In September 2007, the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a recall for 1.2 million Simplicity and Graco cribs because a flaw in the design of the cribs allowed parents to install the drop rail upside down. When this happened, the drop rail could separate from the crib, creating a gap into which a child could fall and suffocate. The recall was so urgent that in issuing it, the CPSC warned parents not to allow their child to sleep in the defective cribs “for one more night” until they obtained and installed a repair kit.  By the time the CPSC issued its Graco and Simplicity crib recall notice, it had received 55 reports of children being trapped by the cribs, and it knew of three infants who had been killed because of the defect. (more…)

Salmonella serotypes account for 38.6 percent of all human food borne illnesses, according to a 2006 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, making it the most common human food borne pathogen.  In response to the growing epidemic and to advance efforts to significantly reduce human cases of salmonellosis, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced new policies for the Agency’s salmonella verification sampling program and related activities in meat and poultry establishments to be implemented March 28th this year:

• FSIS website publication of completed verification sample results for establishments which inconsistently meet salmonella performance standards, beginning with those from young chicken slaughter establishments (there has been an increase in positive rates and serotypes found in these products).
• A voluntary incentive-based program for poultry establishments meant to provide data on attribution of human illness to FSIS-regulated products.
• Increase the agency’s use of targeted sampling approaches and collaborative serotype and subtype data. (more…)

Ketek investigators at the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) could soon be subpoenaed by a congressional committee looking into the agency’s handling of the defective drug. Ketek, approved in 2004 to treat respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, sinusitis and community-acquired pneumonia, has been linked to liver failure. The FDA approved Ketek despite knowing that its clinical trials were rife with fraud.

Shortly after its approval, Ketek was linked to serious side effects, including sometimes fatal liver damage. The FDA eventually confirmed 53 cases of liver failure in patients using Ketek, including five deaths. This past February, the FDA finally added black box warnings to the Ketek label and severely restricted its use. (more…)

Cough and cold medicines can be dangerous—even deadly—to children, especially when taken unsupervised.  According to the U.S. government’s first national estimate of the problem—released yesterday—about 7,000 children are sent to hospital emergency rooms every year. About two-thirds of the children took medicines without supervision and one-quarter fell ill when their parents dosed them properly.  In those cases, children developed an allergic reaction or some other problem according to a study conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The CDC studied both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription medications.

CDC researchers gathered case reports from 2004 and 2005 of children aged 11 and younger who had taken cough and cold medications and required treatment in 63 hospitals.  The CDC based the national estimate from these figures. The study found that of the children reported to have received the correct medicine doses, about one-third were under two years of age and more than half were ages six to 11. (more…)