Thursday, February 27, 2014

2/27/24 Health News: THEORIES PILE UP ON RANCHO BEEF INVESTIGATION - 18 Exposed to Incurable Disease - Poor Nations Seek Hepatitis C Drug - Medical Errors

THEORIES PILE UP AS RANCHO BEEF INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
So many people are wondering why 8.7 million pounds of meat processed by Rancho Feeding Corporation in Petaluma, CA were recalled and the slaughterhouse subsequently closed. Could it be an inspector shortage? An inspector-veterinarian dispute? Cancerous cow eyes and circumvented inspection requirements? Theories abound and we’re keeping count. The union representing U.S. Department of Agriculture... Continue Reading
18 May Have Been Exposed to Incurable Disease
Doctors and hospital officials from Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, are notifying 18 neurosurgery patients that they might have been exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a serious and incurable neurological disorder. "It is important to note that there are multiple variations of CJD and this case is not related to mad cow disease," Novant Health said in a statement. The hospital confirmed that on January 18, an operation was performed on a patient with CJD symptoms who later tested positive for the illness.
Poor Nations Seek New Hepatitis C Drug
Now that wealthy nations have a simple pill regimen that can cure hepatitis C, calls are mounting from representatives of poor nations for the same drugs. In December, the Food and Drug Administration approved sofosbuvir, from Gilead Sciences. Under the brand name Sovaldi in the United States, it is expected to cost $84,000 per treatment. Four other companies are developing similar pills expected to reach the market in the next three years, with similarly high price tags. Worldwide, at least 150 million people — nearly five times the number with H.I.V. — are believed to have hepatitis C, which can cause liver damage and cancer. Continue Reading
Medical Errors That Shook Greece
From incorrect medical assessments and contaminated blood transfusions, to errors that left patients paralyzed or with serious disabilities, physicians in Greece have also had their share of failures over the past years and were involved in medical errors. On the occasion of the Papageorgiou Hospital in northern Greece which is planning to introduce a mobile phone signal jammer for its operating rooms so that physicians won’t be able to use their cell phones while operating..Continue Reading

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