Police in China have detained 22 people suspected of involvement in introducing the chemical melamine into the supply chain, state media announced today.

Melamine is used to make plastics, fertilizer, and fire retardants and is known to cause kidney stones and can lead to kidney failure.  Melamine-contaminated powdered milk has been blamed for the illnesses of some 54,000 children and the deaths of four infants. (more…)

According to a recent Associated Press (AP) report, effective this week, more foods will be labeled with the country of origin.  Before now, consumers typically did not know where their food originated.  The new so-called COOL law will begin to change some of that.  But, the law is not without its flaws and it does contain a number of significant exceptions and omissions.

The law will better enable shoppers to buy local or choose from which country their food comes from.  Also, when a food poisoning outbreak occurs, investigators will have an easier time of determining the food’s source.  “We do see it as an important step on the road to a more comprehensive system for tracing food items” during outbreaks, says Caroline Smith DeWaal of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. 

”It will be a very good thing because we’ll have a lot more information,” adds Jean Halloran of Consumers Union. But, “you can still be fooled by the COOL label.” (more…)

The E. coli outbreak  linked to a Michigan lettuce distributor has now sickened 30 people in the mid- and southeast regions of that state, according to Michigan health officials.  Four new cases have been reported since late last week across three counties.  In all, about eight counties are involved.

Meanwhile, we just reported that the Michigan Department of Community Health announced that bagged lettuce from Detroit-based produce distributor Aunt Mid’s Produce Company, is the probable source of the outbreak that seems to have originated in that state.  In addition to those ill in Michigan, this outbreak has sickened several others in New York, Ohio, Illinois, and Oregon.  “That pretty much nailed the fact that it was a national distributor,” Michigan State University Physician Beth Alexander said regarding the related cases emerging in other states. “There can be many distributors of one farm.  If you trace it back to where the product is produced they might sell to several distributors.”  Aunt Mid’s released a statement Friday saying, “(Aunt Mid’s) has already voluntarily initiated testing procedures by an independent laboratory.  In the meantime, Aunt Mid’s is voluntarily suspending any processing and sale of its iceberg lettuce product line….  I don’t think there’s much question about it being lettuce,” Alexander said. “Fresh produce and ground beef are the two most common sources.” (more…)

According to a recent Associated Press (AP) report, the Joint Commission issued a safety alert to hospitals this week to adopt strict measures to prevent errors that involve blood thinners, such as heparin.  The AP says that mistakes “have been made nearly 60,000 times and led to dozens of deaths in recent years.”

Measures could include, for example, bar-coding technology for medicines or computerized drug orders.  The Commission also advised hospitals to more closely monitor patients on these drugs and ensure adult-strength heparin is stored nowhere near children’s heparin units.  The alert also mentioned that “28 deaths are among 32 reports of drug errors involving blood thinners that it received between 1997 and last year,” the AP said.  “We know that there are many more (deaths) and … that’s the reason for issuing this alert,” said Dr. Mark Chassin, president of the Commission. The commission is a private group that sets hospital standards and accredits most of the nation’s hospitals.  “Accreditation brings prestige and federal dollars,” the AP explained. (more…)

Medical professions attending a congressional hearing this week have said that a large-scale study of the long-term health effects of cell phones needs to be carried out, especially in children.  During a hearing before the House subcommittee on domestic policy, Ronald Herberman, director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute discussed how cell phones affect adult and growing brains.

Herberman used model brains of an adult and a 5-year-old, each with a cell phone held to a corresponding ear to demonstrate that while cell phone radiation travels two inches into the adult brain, it reaches far beyond the center of a child’s brain. “I cannot tell this committee that cell phones are dangerous, but I certainly can’t tell you they are safe,” said Herberman.  Herberman recently made news with his much-publicized memo urging his 3,000 staffers to limit their and their children’s cell-phone use.  “We urgently need to do a study [to resolve this question],” he told the subcommittee, which was chaired by Representative Dennis Kucinich (Democrat-Ohio). (more…)

Nursing home abuse and neglect continues to be a serious problem in the U.S.  According to a new report conducted by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, a whopping 94 percent of all for-profit nursing homes were cited last year for violations of federal health and safety standards. In total, 90 percent of all nursing homes – including those owned by non-profit groups and government agencies – were cited last year for violations of health and safety standards.

The violations cited by the inspector general’s report included infected bedsores, medication mix-ups, poor nutrition, and abuse and neglect of patients.  The inspector general also said on Monday that some nursing homes “have systematically failed to provide staff in sufficient numbers and with appropriate clinical expertise to serve their residents.”  In other cases, nursing homes billed Medicare and Medicaid for services that “were not provided, or were so wholly deficient that they amounted to no care at all,” the inspector general said. (more…)

Cephalon Inc. has reached a settlement with federal prosecutors over charges that the drug maker illegally marketed its narcotic painkiller Actiq, as well as two other drugs, Provigil and Gabitril.  In addition to paying a fine of $425 million, Cephalon will plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor for the illegal off-label marketing of its drug.

Actiq, sold as a lozenge on a stick, has been implicated in over 120 fatalities, including the deaths of two children who thought the drug was candy.  Actiq contains fentanyl, a highly addictive opiate that is 80 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl is considered a Class II substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration, meaning it is associated with a high potential for abuse and a risk for fatal overdose. While Actiq was only approved for treating pain in cancer patients, a November 2006 Wall Street Journal investigation found that 80-percent of patients taking Actiq did not have cancer. (more…)

According to a study conducted by a group of researchers from the United Kingdom and United States, animals that are farmed for meat and poultry are the principle source of food poisoning in humans.  The research was published in PLoS Genetics.  Using a new method of evolution-based gene-typing, researchers found that 97 percent of the infections reviewed came through the food chain, specifically from chicken, cattle, and sheep; earlier studies pointed to wild animals or environmental sources.

Daniel Wilson of the University of Chicago and research lead, said the spread of the disease from campylobacteriosis—the disease caused by the campylobacter jejuni bacteria—could be reduced by improving food hygiene during preparation and by enforcing on-farm security measures. The campylobacter jejuni bacteria causes more cases of gastro-enteritis in the developed world than any other bacteria, including E. coli, Salmonella, Clostridium and Listeria combined.  “The dual observations that livestock are a frequent source of human disease isolates, and that wild animals and the environment are not, strongly support the notion that preparation or consumption of infected meat and poultry is the dominant transmission route,” Wilson said. (more…)

According to a recent Associated Press report, “cookies from a major Japanese confectioner and Chinese-made baby cereal and crackers” are now included in the ongoing tainted milk scandal originating out of China.  Taiwan also reported three babies with kidney stones in the first cases likely linked to the scandal.  The AP also reports that the Hong Kong government announced it found traces of melamine in baby cereal and crackers made in mainland China:  Heinz DHA+AA vegetable formula baby cereal and Silang House steamed potato wasabi crackers.  Heinz, which is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company, ordered a recall of the baby cereal.

Melamine is used to make plastics, fertilizer, and fire retardants and is known to cause kidney stones and can lead to kidney failure.  Melamine-contaminated powdered milk has been blamed for the illnesses of some 54,000 children and the deaths of four infants.  “I think we will see some more cases, but not the high number like so far,” he said. “I think the recall and more thorough investigation and testing are now starting to eliminate some of these contaminated products from coming out to the public.” (more…)

In New York, school officials are reporting that students in towns across Long Island are being diagnosed with MRSA.  Students in Commack and Westhampton Beach have been diagnosed with MRSA, bringing the total of children who have contracted the infection to four reported cases in approximately two weeks.

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a mutated staph that has emerged in recent years and, when not treated early, is resistant to all but the one antibiotic of last resort.  Formerly used in the most potent cases, this drug is being used more and more and, as a result, MRSA is developing resistance to this last successful medication.  MRSA, formerly only seen in hospitals and other health care facilities is now mainstreaming and has been seen to cause skin infections in healthy people who have not recently been hospitalized, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports. (more…)