Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
Misuse of Syringes Found as Cause of Hepatitis C Outbreak
It was the re-use of syringes and vials containing medicine that caused a hepatitis C outbreak resulting in 84 patients becoming infected at two Las Vegas clinics, the Associated Press reports.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was first contacted early in 2008 after two people had come down with hepatitis C, the wire service reports. CDC investigators said in their report they observed clinic employees reusing syringes to administer a sedative, and followup interviews indicated it was a common practice, the wires service reported. "This was considered the most likely mode of transmission," the report concluded.
The two clinics in question, the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada and the Desert Shadow Endoscopy Center -- both now shut down -- treated about 50,000 patients over this amount of time, the A.P. said. Law enforcement officials from Las Vegas, Nevada and the U.S. government are pursing criminal investigations, according to the wire service.
The doctors who ran the clinics, Dipak Desai and Eladio Carrera, have had their medical licenses suspended and paid a $50,000 fine, the A.P. reported.
Brian Labus, a senior epidemiologist with the Southern Nevada Health District, told the A.P. that the link between being treated at the clinics and contracting Hepatitis C was strong. "We know they [the 84 patients] didn't have a positive test before they went to the clinic, and now they're positive," he said.
State officials are worried that all 50,000 patients who were treated at the clinics between March, 2004 and Jan. 11, 2008 may have been exposed to Hepatitis C, which can linger in a person's system for years without symptoms. The disease can result in liver failure.
Post-Concussion Activity Levels Affect Recovery
The activity level of athletes after they've suffered a concussion affects brain function and speed of recovery, says a U.S. study in the Journal of Athletic Training.
Athletes who engage in high levels of activity following a concussion showed impaired brain function, while those who engaged in moderate levels of activity had the best performance on brain function tests, the study found.
"We surmise that most athletes in the highest-intensity activity group probably experienced a less severe initial injury, but by continuing with high levels of activity, they began to exhibit similar symptoms to those who initially experienced a more severe concussion," researcher Jason P. Mihalik, a certified athletic trainer at the University of North Carolina, said in a prepared statement.
The study also found differences in recovery based on age and gender, which suggests that different post-concussion strategies may be needed for certain groups of athletes.
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FDA Repeats Warning About Transplant Drugs
The organ transplant drugs CellCept and Myfortic can cause miscarriages and birth defects when used by pregnant women, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reminded doctors Friday.
In an online notice to doctors posted Friday, the agency recommended "confirming that a pregnancy has not occurred and ensuring that patients use effective contraceptive measures," the Associated Press reported.
The drugs suppress the immune system in order to avoid organ rejection in transplant patients. Last October, the FDA added its most serious warning to CellCept and Myfortic after it received reports of miscarriages and infants born with ear and mouth defects after their mothers took CellCept.
Most of these cases occurred in mothers who took the drug before they knew they were pregnant, said the FDA, which noted that some of the women were taking the drugs for unapproved conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, the AP reported.
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Most U.S. Teen Girls Suffer Sexual Harassment: Study
About 90 percent of American teenage girls have suffered at least one incident of sexual harassment, suggests a study that included 600 girls, ages 12 to 18.
The researchers found 67 percent of the girls reported receiving unwanted romantic attention, 62 percent were exposed to demeaning gender-related comments, 58 percent were teased because of their appearance, 52 percent were subjected to unwanted physical contact, and 25 percent were bullied or threatened with harm by a male, United Press International reported.
In addition, 76 percent of the girls reported sexist comments on their athletic abilities, and 52 percent received discouraging gender-based comments about their math, science and computer abilities.
The findings were published in the May/June issue of the journal Child Development.
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Scientific Laboratories Inc. Banned From Making, Distributing Drugs
Scientific Laboratories Inc. has been banned from making and distributing drug products until their manufacturing operations meet federal regulations and their products are approved, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.
The company is a contract manufacturer and distributor of various prescription cough and cold products. A number of Scientific Laboratories' drugs "have not undergone FDA review for safety and efficacy and may pose potential health risks," Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a prepared statement.
The unapproved new drugs manufactured and marketed by Scientific Laboratories as prescription cough and cold products include: B-Vex Suspension; Ben-Tann Suspension; D-Tann Suspension; D-Tann AT Suspension; D-Tann CT Suspension; D-Tann DM Suspension; D-Tann HC Suspension; Dur-Tann DM Suspension; Duratan DM Suspension; L-All 12 Suspension; Nazarin Liquid; and Nazarin HC Liquid.
Pharmacies should stop dispensing these products, and consumers with these products in their homes should talk to their health care provider about whether to stop using the products, the FDA said.
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Texas Seafood Producer Ordered to Close, Recall Products
A seafood processing company in Texas has been ordered to close down and recall all products manufactured at its facility since 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.
Under a different name, Hope Food Supply Inc., of Pasadena, Texas, had made dried smoked catfish steaks and other smoked seafood products but was ordered to close until it developed and implemented an adequate Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan for its products.
The company hasn't developed this plan and can't resume production until it's implemented an approved HACCP plan, the FDA said. This type of plan requires the company to identify all food safety hazards likely to occur with each type of seafood product they process and establish preventive measures to control those hazards.
Without such a plan, seafood products could contain potentially harmful bacteria that could cause serious illnesses in people.
Hope Food Supply's products have been distributed across the United States. Consumers should take any smoked seafood products to the place of purchase to determine if the products came from Hope Food Supply. If so, the products should be thrown away, the FDA said.
Consumers who have eaten Hope Food Supply dried smoked catfish or other smoked seafood products and have suffered adverse reactions should consult a health care professional.
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