Dozens Sickened By Tainted Heparin Syringes
More than three dozen people in Texas and Illinois have fallen ill with blood infections caused by tainted medical syringes. No deaths have been reported, though one patient remained hospitalized on Tuesday.
Single Batch Affected
The syringes contain the blood thinning drug heparin and are used to clear out intravenous tubes and catheters in patients with cancer and other illnesses. Federal health officials said the contaminated syringes come from a single batch made by Sierra Pre-Filled.
Dushyant Patel, president of the company, said the tainted batch has been recalled. He also said that the company is cooperating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration during the investigation.
Alerting the Public
The CDC is currently working to alert physicians, but is also urging patients who think they’ve used a tainted syringe to contact their doctors immediately. The blood infections can be serious, causing fever and chills, but usually respond to treatment with antibiotics.
Batches of the contaminated syringes have also been sent to Florida, Colorado and Pennsylvania, but no cases of infection have been reported in those states.
Investigators are still trying to determine the source of the contamination and where the liability lays, whether it was the heparin, the syringes, or the saline used for dilution.