A shortage of an important childhood vaccine is expected to last until the middle of next year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports.  The Hib vaccine shortage began last year, after a Merck & Co. facility where it was made was closed due to bacterial contamination.

Hib, or haemophilus influenzae type b, is a bacteria that can cause a serious form of pneumonia and a condition called bacterial meningitis.  According to the CDC,  Hib is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in children under five years of age.   More A Year After Recall, Hib Vaccine Shortage Continues

The maker of Accutane has been ordered to pay nearly $13 million to three people who said the acne medication caused them to develop inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).   The verdict in the New Jersey Accutane lawsuits – which were combined for trial – marks the fourth time Roche AG has lost an IBD case at trial, Bloomberg News reports.

IBD refers to two chronic diseases that cause inflammation of the intestines: ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. These diseases cause the lining of the intestine to become inflamed  and develop ulcers. More Roche Loses Fourth Accutane Trial, Ordered to Pay 3 IBD Victims $12.9 Million

Food poisoning causes about 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and up to 5,000 deaths annually, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Now, Reuters, is reporting that the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that foodborne illnesses are increasing and striking rich and poor countries alike.   The problem of foodborne illness was recently discussed at a WHO “experts meeting”, Reuters said.

The WHO, the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system, said that eradication of food-borne diseases “requires a concerted effort on the part of the three principal partners, namely governments, the food industry, and consumers.”  Meanwhile, WHO Director of food safety, Jorgen Schlundt, cited China’s problems with melamine,  and last summer’s massive salmonella outbreak in the U.S., when discussing the need for more research into the illnesses and deaths associated with tainted foods,  Reuters said.   More WHO Says Foodborne Illnesses on the Rise

Victoria’s Secret is facing more lawsuits over bras that wearers claim caused horrific skin reactions.  Two more class action lawsuits, filed in federal courts in Florida and New York, are seeking reimbursement for medical bills and return of the purchase price for consumers who bought and wore defective bras from Victoria’s Secret.

Last week, it was reported that Victoria’s Secret had received hundreds of complaints from women who said the company’s bras had caused serious skin problems, including allergic reactions, contact dermatitis, blistering, itching, hives, rashes and scarring.  According to those reports, some Victoria’s Secret bras had tested positive for the presence of formaldehyde, which is sometimes used in the textile industry to make fabrics crease resistant. More Victoria’s Secret Bra Rashes Prompt More Lawsuits

Three cases of MRSA—also known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus—which were recently diagnosed in students at Long Island’s Stony Brook University are unrelated, according to doctors speaking in a Newsday.com article.

“These are what we call sporadic cases of MRSA,”  Dr. Susan Donelan, a specialist in adult infectious diseases at Stony Brook University Medical Center, told Newsday.com.  Donelan noted that it was a coincidence that the three infections were diagnosed so close together.  “This stuff happens … about 30 percent of the population carries Staphyloccoci … we’re on a campus with 9,000 residents,” she said.   Student names and the details about their illnesses are confidential,  Newsday.com said. More Three Stony Brook University MRSA Cases Unrelated

Reuters is reporting that a panel of external experts is urging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and “other U.S. health agencies” to look at “the long-term effects” of antipsychotic drugs on children.

The group met to review the safety of Risperdal—known generically as risperidone, and manufactured by Johnson & Johnson—and Zyprexa—manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company  and known generically as olanzapine, reported Reuters.  Reuters said the panel, which met this week, “unanimously requested more long-term data on the side effects of using these drugs in children.”  Both medications are atypical antipsychotics and have made headlines for their increased and unapproved use in children, said Reuters. More Panel Questions Antipsychotics for Kids

The state of Massachusetts has filed an auction rate securities lawsuit against Oppenheimer & Co.  According to Reuters, this is the first time a regulator has brought such a suit against a broker that resold the securities.  The complaint, brought by Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, charges Oppenheimer with deceiving customers in its sales of auction rate securities.

Auction rate securities are long-term corporate bonds, municipal bonds and preferred stock on which the interest rates are reset periodically based on bids submitted through securities firms. Generally, rates are reset every seven, 14, 28 or 35 days. Because they can be sold during weekly or monthly auctions, banks and brokerages often touted auction rate securities as short-term investments or cash equivalents. Unfortunately, because of the credit crises, the market for auction rate securities crashed earlier this year. Thousands of investors have been bewildered to find out that the investments they were sold as cash equivalents are now illiquid. More Oppenheimer Faces Auction Rate Securities Lawsuit

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been under fire for some time now over lapses in food and product safety, especially in its oversight of imports to the U.S.  As this trend continues, the FDA has been discussing opening offices in key international locations.  Now, USA Today is reporting that the FDA has opened its first such foreign office yesterday in China.  The Associated Press (AP) reported that this is the first such FDA office to open outside of the U.S. and that the office opening “is part of” the FDA’s “new global strategy” to protect imports entering the U.S.

The opening follows an FDA order last week in which it mandated Chinese “food products” be stopped at the U.S. border for melamine testing, said USA Today.  David Acheson, the FDA’s associate commissioner for foods, said the broad hold was atypical but necessary given that different foods from a variety of manufacturers were testing positive for melamine, indicating the tainting is not limited to a few importers, reported the AP.   More FDA Opens China Office

ABC’s News Channel 8 in Oklahoma is reporting that Country Cottage—the Locust Grove, Oklahoma restaurant that closed this summer after being linked to a huge and rare E. coli outbreak —is preparing to reopen.  At the height of the outbreak, Country Cottage indicated it was considering remaining closed indefinitely.

The outbreak resulted in 314 people falling ill and caused the death of one man, said Channel 8.  According to the report,  the state health department there gave approval to Country Cottage to resume business.  More Oklahoma E. coli Restaurant to Reopen

The scandal over tainted heparin has prompted one lawmaker to seek a wider investigation into the matter.  Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, has written to the Governmental Accountability Office (GAO) requesting a thorough investigation into the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) handling of the heparin issue.

Heparin was the subject of a major product recall after a potentially lethal contaminant was identified and traced to suppliers in China. Last  January, Baxter International recalled nearly all its heparin injections in the US after some patients experienced extreme – and in some cases fatal – allergic reactions, including difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, excessive sweating, and rapidly falling blood pressure that was life threatening after being administered the products. More Lawmaker Seeks GAO Probe of Heparin Scandal