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Soap and Water

Medscape (2/23, Zimmerman) reported that the use of “alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) in place of soap and water in nursing homes represents one of the greatest institutional risk factors for the spread of noroviruses,” Noroviruses are a group of related, single-stranded RNA, viruses that cause acute stomach flu. The most common symptoms of this are … Read more

NYTimes touts need for product safety law

In an editorial titled “How Quickly They Forget,” the New York Times (2/24, A26) questions efforts to undo safety regulations regarding children’s products. The Times notes the House’s decision to slash funding from a product-safety reporting website, a result of the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. House Republicans are also railing against requirements for … Read more

Pompeo provision would derail product safety database

The Washington Post (2/28, Layton) reports, “The first-ever government database of product safety complaints, which is scheduled to go public in two weeks, could be scrapped as a result of a budget amendment offered by a freshman member of the House,” Rep. Mike Pompeo. Pompeo, a Republican, “won support for a measure to withhold money … Read more

Hospital Infections Cause Thousands of Re-admissions

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (2/25, Fabregas) reported, “Hospital-acquired germs may have contributed to several thousand rehospitalizations in Pennsylvania,” according to a review by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council. The group found that “23,287 people got hospital-acquired infections in 2009, or 1.2 percent of the 1.9 million patients admitted to hospitals statewide. Nearly 30 percent … Read more

Supreme Court ruling protects vaccine makers from lawsuits

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Justice Department Wants Tobacco Companies to Admit Wrongdoing

To all of our readers, this is a story worth following. The AP (2/24) reports, “The Justice Department disclosed Wednesday it wants to require the tobacco industry to admit publicly that smoking causes a multitude of medical problems, killing 1,200 Americans every day.” The department has “proposed that a federal judge order the companies to … Read more

Data show nearly 10,000 infants injured in crib accidents annually

Here is some disturbing information on infant deaths due to accidents. Many of these are caused by falls from cribs.   USA Today (2/17, Szabo) reports, “More than 9,500 babies and toddlers” go to the emergency department (ED) each year because of injuries related to “cribs, playpens and bassinets,” according to a “19-year” study in … Read more

Nearly two million baby monitors recalled after infant deaths

The AP (2/11, Kerr) reported Rhode Island-based Summer Infant issued a recall of approximately 1.7 million video baby monitors Friday, “after being linked to the strangulation deaths of two infants.” Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said, “I urge all parents and caregivers to put at least three feet between any video or audio … Read more

Nearly 25 percent of early ovarian cancer patients not receiving recommended biopsies

If you or anyone you know is dealing with ovarian cancer, please read this. HealthDay (2/10, Preidt) reported, “More than one-quarter of women with apparent early-stage ovarian cancer don’t receive recommended lymph node biopsies to check for cancer spread, which nearly doubles these patients’ risk of death,” according to a study in the journal Gynecological … Read more