Heparin Was Not All Heparin, FDA Says
According to the FDA the heparin drug that caused twenty some deaths and over 350 complaints of “allergic” reactions was not all heparin. In fact, twenty percent of the drug was an unknown ingredient called a heparin mimic. It was indistinguishable from the real drug until scanned through an MRI.
According to a New York Times report today, “routine tests failed to distinguish the contaminant from the drug”. The report went on to say:
The F.D.A. has now received 785 reports of serious injuries associated with the drug’s use. Forty-six deaths have also been reported to the agency, but Dr. Woodcock said that just 19 of these appeared related to the suspect heparin. Baxter executives said that the total death toll was actually four.
Of course, whether the death count is four, nineteen, or twenty-one as previously reported, it proves one thing. We and the FDA cannot continue to exist on the honor system in the expanding globalization. It would be nice if everyone did everything perfectly. Unfortunately, that is delusion.
While we fight the war on terrorism, we continue to import drugs, toys, and who knows what else that is potentially as lethal over time as a single attack on our citizens. While I have no intention of diminishing the horror of an attack, we must realize that checking suitcases at an airport isn’t the sole answer to homeland security. The lack of inspections by the FDA and the sluggish response to this incident has proved that we are sitting ducks if someone wishes to slowly poison us through our medicines.
That may seem a little far out on first blush, but we have seen the reaction to anthrax in the nation’s capital. We have seen our pets die from kidney failure due to contaminated dog and cat food. We witnessed the largest toy recall in history a few months back. And, while we are fighting against terrorist with guns and armor, perhaps we should consider the consequences of not monitoring the drugs we take or the food we eat more carefully.
I’m not suggesting by any means that someone in China decided to kill off our pets, poison our children with lead paint or contaminate the ingredients of our drugs. I’m suggesting that if these were all accidents of one sort or another, we should expect our government, FDA, and homeland security to protect us from imports that are not safe. After 9-11 there was massive talk about the possibility of our water supplies being poisoned and dirty bombs being set off in congested train stations. Who is to say that our imports that go uninspected may not be the next vehicle for massive deaths across our country?
[...] early March or before, there were reports of heparin deaths. Yet, the FDA offered that the drug should be administered more slowly to prevent the problem and that perhaps an [...]