The Bear Stearns fraud probe that has so far yielded indictments against two of the doomed investment bank’s hedge fund managers might soon engulf other banks.  Federal prosecutors reportedly want to know if Ralph Cioffi and Mathew Tannin, the indicted managers, misled banks that lent money to their failed hedge funds.

Cioffi and Tannin ran the High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund, and its sister offering, the High Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund, hedge funds that  invested in securities backed by sub-prime home loans.  Both funds crashed last summer, ushering in the sub-prime mortgage crisis and spelling beginning of the end of Bear Stearns. (more…)

We’ve long reported on the escalating issues with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, commonly referred to as MRSA and now, CA-MRSA, or community-associated MRSA.  MRSA is a type of staph that causes infections resistant to most antibiotics and last year, seriously sickened 94,000 Americans.  Recent deaths include five school children with school infections in the dozens.  MRSA also infected players from four NFL teams, some NYC firefighters, and seems to strike people in close physical contact.  Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates place last year’s MRSA death toll at 19,000, with 2,000 healthy people dying from CA-MRSA.

MRSA was associated with extended hospital stays, but now, CA-MRSA is striking healthy individuals, raising fears it can strike anyone, anywhere, anytime.  The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology reported last year that nearly five percent of U.S. patients were infected or colonized with MRSA.  MRSA is resistant to all but the one antibiotic of last resort when not treated properly.  Formerly used in the most potent cases, this drug is being used more and more and with decreasing success.  Without treatment or with incorrect diagnosis and treatment, MRSA spreads rapidly, leading to respiratory failure and surgeries, attacking vital organs like the lungs and heart.  Survivors are not always returned to their pre-MRSA condition, losing limbs, hearing, and full use of damaged organs. (more…)

The City of New York is trying avoid paying 9/11 injury claims by questioning the validity of many of them.  Lawyers for the city recently filed court papers alleging that about 30 percent of claimants aren’t seriously ill, and another 3 percent are not injured at all.  Lawyers representing the more than 10,000 plaintiff suing New York City for their 9/11 ailments – at least half of which are firefighters, police and other first responders – say the city is twisting the nature of the injury claims.

In the hours and days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, thousands of rescue workers descended on Ground Zero to help with recovery efforts. Sifting through dust and rubble, sometimes with their bare hands, many lacked the clothing and equipment that could have kept them safe from harm. Several studies have confirmed that Ground Zero first responders are suffering from ill health as a result of their exposure to toxic dust at the site. Released last May, the initial findings of a three-year study conducted by the Mt. Sinai Medical Center found that of the 9,000 WTC first responders examined, 70-percent had suffered some type of lung ailment after the attacks, and that 60-percent still faced respiratory problems. Another report released by the FDNY that same month reported that cases of the rare lung disease sarcoidosis had risen dramatically among firefighters and EMS workers who were first responders at Ground Zero. And the New York City Department of Health also found that one in eight first responders still suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. (more…)

Representative Rosa DeLauro (Democrat-Conneticut) is urging the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Science Board follow Health Canada’s lead and expand its inquiry of bisphenol A (BPA) by identifying all medical devices containing BPA.  “Scientific studies have linked BPA to neurological and behavioral problems in youngsters, as well as certain cancers, diabetes, and obesity,” DeLauro wrote to Frank Torti, the FDA’s principal deputy commissioner and chief scientist.

The FDA has long maintained—even in the face of tremendous opposition—BPA’s safety.  But earlier this month it asked Science Board Chairwoman Barbara J. McNeil, M.D., Ph.D., head of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School, to establish a subcommittee to assess BPA.  The subcommittee will hold a public meeting on BPA’s safety in plastics, review an agency task force report on BPA, and present its findings at the Science Board’s annual meeting this fall, the FDA has said.   (more…)

Merck & Co. has failed in its quest to convince federal regulators to expand approval of Gardasil for older women.  Yesterday, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) said it was delaying its  approval of  Merck’s application at this time because it had questions regarding Gardasil’s effectiveness in women ages 27 – 45.  Gardasil is already approved for use in girls and women ages 9 – 26.

Gardasil was approved by the  Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in June 2006. At the time of its approval, Merck & Co. said that clinical trials had proven the vaccine to be between 90-100% effective in preventing the transmission of some strains of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) that cause cervical cancer. The approval of Gardasil was much hyped, with Merck claiming that it had the potential to eventually eliminate most cervical cancers. (more…)

University of Pennsylvania scientists and ethicists are looking to revamp the organ transplant system over concerns it’s too fragmented, allowing some patients to receive substandard organs while others can pick and choose organs based on “certain risk factors at the time of transplant.”  The group feels patients awaiting transplants should decide in advance if they’re willing to accept substandard organs and organs at risk for serious infectious diseases.

The group pointed to a Chicago case last year where a man whose transplanted organs infected four people with HIV and hepatitis C.  While the man did not test positive for HIV at the time of his death, local officials knew of the man’s risky behaviors. The transplant recipients were not informed of the risks at the time of transplant; at least one patient is taking steps to sue the transplant agency and the hospital.  And, earlier this year we reported on the case of a 15-year-old boy who was originally thought to have died from bacterial meningitis.  His parents donated his organs, which were deemed healthy for transplantation.  A month later, the parents were told their son had actually died of a rare lymphoma, a diagnosis in which his organs would not have been transplanted given the disease’s transmission strength.  Two patients who received the organs died last year of the same rare lymphoma and two other’s were undergoing chemotherapy. (more…)

Yesterday we reported that U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the current Ohio and Michigan E. coli outbreaks were linked and health officials believed ground beef might be the culprit.  Now, the Kroger supermarket chain, which was connected to some of the illnesses, says it is voluntarily recalling ground beef linked to the outbreak.  The recall followed a Michigan health department announcement confirming at least 16 E. coli cases—Ohio reports at least 19—and that over half of those reported buying and eating ground beef from Kroger’s.

Kroger says customers who bought ground beef with sell-by dates of May 31-June 8 at stores in Michigan and the Columbus and Toledo, Ohio areas should return the product for a refund or replacement.  The company says the ground beef in question is no longer being sold. (more…)

Salmonella tainted tomatoes have now sickened more than 700 people across the country.   According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Salmonella tomato outbreak now spans 34 states and the District of Columbia.  Because the CDC is continuing to receive reports of illnesses, the Salmonella outbreak is considered to be ongoing.  Consumers are still being warned to avoid raw red plum, red Roma, or round red tomatoes or any products containing them unless they are known to have come from a geographic area cleared of any connection to the outbreak.

According to the CDC, 707 cases of Salmonella St. Paul have been reported in the US between mid-April and June 13, 2008.   Texas has had been the hardest hit state, with 293 illnesses reported.  Other states affected by the outbreak include Arkansas (7 persons), Arizona (36), California (10), Colorado (5), Connecticut (4), Florida (1), Georgia (15), Idaho (3), Illinois (63), Indiana (11), Kansas (11), Kentucky (1), Maryland (25), Massachusetts (17), Michigan (4), Missouri (12), New Hampshire (1), Nevada (4), New Jersey (4), New Mexico (80), New York (18), North Carolina (5), Ohio (3), Oklahoma (17), Oregon (5), Pennsylvania (6), Rhode Island (3), Tennessee (6), Utah (2), Virginia (22), Vermont (1), Washington (5), Wisconsin (6), and the District of Columbia (1). (more…)

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with two different firms, has recalled defective products due to fire hazards.

In the first, Dollar Tree Inc., of Chesapeake, Virginia recalled approximately 470,000 Crafters Square Hot Melt Mini Glue Guns which were manufactured in China and imported by Greenbrier International Inc., also of Chesapeake.  The gun dispenses hot glue and is intended for craft projects; however, the glue guns can short circuit, causing the gun to smoke, which poses a fire hazard and has been linked to four reports of guns short-circuiting. (more…)

Drug maker Pfizer has reached a settlement with the US Justice Department over Clean Air Act Violations that occurred at its pharmaceutical plant in Groton, Conn.  The settlement, which includes a $975,000 civil penalty, is the first of its kind involving industry-specific standards for airborne emissions during pharmaceutical manufacturing.

In the original complaint, the government charged that Pfizer failed to properly conduct pressure tests to identify leaks and failed to repair leaks, seal open-ended pipes and document leak tests. The alleged violations took place between October 2002 and December 2005. According to the complaint, these violations presented the risk of excess emissions of hazardous air pollutants from the plant. (more…)