H.S. For Sunday 030908

China At It Again?

Hey folks,

In the Health and Science segment. We have MORE bad news coming from China. Apparently now we have to worry about blood thinners. I asked this question “What is going on?” OPNTalk- Someone Has To Ask This

“OK. We have a collapse of two bridges with no explanation. We have a collapse of a Mine in Utah, that was NOT due to and earthquake, and a Dike that broke flooding a Mine in China. Sorry, I do not believe in coincidences. Even if you were to believe that “Things happen.” you have to wonder about these.

We also cannot ignore all the tainted food and toys that have come out of China. This is another area of concern. For years we never had problems with this. Then all of a sudden we do? Could there be a connection? All of these things happening at the same time? What about the fact that North Korea has already threatened us may times in the past and came right out and said they would use Nuclear Weapons against us? Could there be a connection there? While we are focused on Iraq? I’m not saying anything definitively. It just seems to me to be interesting that all these things have just occurred in a very short span of time.”

Now we have tainted Blood Thinners? According to The AFP - US says contaminated blood-thinner came from China

Batches of the recalled blood thinner heparin, which contained an unidentified contaminant and has been linked to 19 deaths, have ingredients that came from China, the US government said Thursday.

The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which added that Germany has announced its own recall of heparin due to allergic reactions, has yet to prove that the contaminant was the cause of the deaths as well as other adverse health effects.

But the FDA said that all the US batches of heparin linked to health problems and deaths were made with ingredients that came from China.

GET THIS

“At this point, we do not know whether the introduction was accidental or whether it was deliberate,” said FDA deputy commissioner Janet Woodcock.

“We don't know if any of the heparin products worldwide might contain this contaminant and that is something we are going to be looking into.”

Well, someone better find out what is going on.

Magnetic resonance imagery (MRI) tests performed on the anti-coagulants showed that up to 20 percent of the active ingredient in the medication contained the unknown contaminant, the FDA said.

On February 11, the FDA announced a limited recall of Baxter International pharmaceuticals' multi-dose heparin and on February 28 the lab expanded the recall to include nearly all heparin being produced.

The injectable drug is made in part from pig intestines. Baxter's supplier, Scientific Protein Laboratories based in Wisconsin, sometimes buys the raw ingredients from unregulated shops in China, according to the New York Times.

However, Wayne Pines, a spokesman for Scientific Protein Laboratories said there was “no evidence of counterfeiting or tampering or anything of that nature.”

“No one really knows what happened here,” he said.

FIND OUT!

The FDA has so far received 785 complaints of health problems as well as 46 reports of death, but Woodcock said that the FDA determined that only 19 of the deaths were linked to the drug. Baxter maintains that four people have died as a result of the drug.

The Times said that the FDA has admitted to violating “its own policies by failing to inspect Scientific Protein's China plant before approving the drug for sale.”

How much money did the FDA receive for looking the other way?

FDA inspectors who visited a plant in Changzou that makes the drug components for US production found “at least some heparin was made from 'material from an unacceptable workshop vendor.'”

SO WHY did it make it here then? Anyone? I repeat, what is going on?
Peter

Sources:
AFP - US says contaminated blood-thinner came from China
OPNTalk- Someone Has To Ask This