Meningitis spreads to 19th state, sickens 347
Fungal meningitis tied to contaminated steroid injections from the New England Compounding Center has now sickened 347 people in 19 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday.
Twenty-five people have died.
Is meningitis in your state?
Rhode Island was the 19th state to report an infection, joining Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
Another seven individuals are infected with fungal joint infections from steroid shots administrated to other joints like the knees, hips, shoulders or ankles.
A preliminary investigation by the Food and Drug Administration revealed on Friday the presence of mold, bacteria and other discoloration on vials and equipment at the Framingham, Mass.-facility that mixes and distributes medications.
FDA's alarming findings in meningitis probe
Investigators found 83 vials out of a bin containing 321 vials of preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate -- the injectable steroid tied to the outbreak -- contained a "greenish black foreign matter." Another 17 vials in the same bin contained a "white filamentous material." Fifty of the vials were sent by the FDA to a lab and tested, and all 50 confirmed the presence of microbial growth.
The FDA's report also found the New England Compounding Center had conducted its own tests and found contamination dating back to January 2012, but had no documentation of actions taken to address the problems.
- FDA finds contaminated vials, bacteria and mold at New England Compounding Center
- Meningitis outbreak grows as experts study fungal culprit
Massachusetts health officials have moved to revoke the New England Compounding Center's license.
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http://www.salon.com/2012/10/30/romneys_lax_regulation_fueled_meningitis_outbreak/
We can trace this epidemic back to Romney. As governor, he introduced lax regulations. In 2004, NECC was even cited for bad conditions, but they got a probabtion thanks to Mitt Romney.
In addition, last July, Republican Senator Scott Brown signed a letter demanding that the FDA loosen regulations on drug companies like NECC.
I'll also point out that NECC made generous contributions to both Romney and Brown's political campaigns.
So if you vote Republican, you are putting your own children at risk.
We need strict regulations on pharmaceuticals. We need to re-hire Obama and fire the entire GOP.
For all you calling for more regulation, your failure in reasoning is to think the government does things well. They don't. Now they will because of the publicity, but only for this particular situation. There was plenty of opportunity for government to regulate New England Compounding Center and they didn't.
First off, Romney was running the show when NECC was playing fast and loose. With his full knowledge and consent. With respect to the role of government....Depending on who is in charge (of any government) the public sector can - and often does - work a whole lot better than the private one. If for no other reason, the public sector is not constrained by profitability concerns.
"Less government" almost always means privatized government. However inefficient things are now I shudder to think what's in store if we were to privatise our state and federal offices as the GOP apparently wants to do.....
I tend to agree with you on privatization. But not that "less government" almost always means privatized government. The intent is to limit the power of government. For instance, the federal government has no role to play in welfare, healthcare, education, or arts. No point in privatizing any of that, just quit doing it. I can see two driving force for privatization. First, easy short term cash selling off infrastructure. Second, as a compromise when competing political interests prevent the government from doing the job. Privatizing prisons and schools (are they different?) could be an example of this.
No, Rose. Shame on you!
This could have been prevented with sensible regulation. But, no, all regulation is bad according to the politicians. Those same politicians whose palms are greased by the very enterprises that cause sickness and death are as much to blame as the shady businesses themselves. Ultimately it is the congress and the FDA that are to blame for allowing this public health disaster to happen. And they still haven't fixed it!!!
Questions as to whether the FDA already has enough authority to regulate these compounders have gone unanswered. Legislation has been slow in coming, if at all, despite the swath of destruction left in the wake of this man mad disaster. No wonder public approval of the Dudley Doolittle congress is at an all time low. What is even more surprising about this is that those very congressmen and their families are as much at risk as everyone else. Now doesn't that beat all? They don't even seem to care much about their own families. Let us hope they come to their senses before they or ones they love become another statistic in this public health mess.
You can view and sign the petition here (you may have to cut and paste in your browser):
http://wh.gov/kyfg