Archive for April 26th, 2009

Is Swine Flu ‘The Big One’ or a Flu That Fizzles?
By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe, Ap Medical Writer

ATLANTA – As reports of a unique form of swine flu erupt around the world, the inevitable question arises: Is this the big one?

Is this the next big global flu epidemic that public health experts have long anticipated and worried about? Is this the novel virus that will kill millions around the world, as pandemics did in 1918, 1957 and 1968?

The short answer is it’s too soon to tell.

“What makes this so difficult is we may be somewhere between an important but yet still uneventful public health occurrence here — with something that could literally die out over the next couple of weeks and never show up again — or this could be the opening act of a full-fledged influenza pandemic,” said Michael Osterholm, a prominent expert on global flu outbreaks with the University of Minnesota.

“We have no clue right now where we are between those two extremes. That’s the problem,” he said.
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FDA Lab Tests Find More Tainted Weight Loss Supplements

Lab tests conducted by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have identified 34 supplement products supplied by the same firm as containing undeclared sibutramine, a drug ingredient used for weight loss.

The findings have prompted the company in question – Universal ABC Beauty Supply – to issue a voluntary recall for the products on the basis that they are unapproved and therefore their “safety and effectiveness (…) is unknown”.

Sibutramine is a controlled substance that can cause high blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia (rapid heart beat), palpitations, heart attack or stroke. The company has discontinued distribution of the products in question.

The lab tests by FDA follow on from a previous agency clamp-down on adulterated weight-loss supplements. At the end of 2008 and the start of 2009, FDA identified around 70 fraudulent products as containing undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients including sibutramine, rimonabant, phenolphthalein and bumetanide.

The agency requested voluntary recalls and warned that it would take further enforcement action of necessary.