Fort Collins clinic warns parents of shot mistake given to children
A clinic in Fort Collins is advising parents of children who received a pediatric flu shot from their offices to get tested for some blood-borne diseases including HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C after their vaccine syringes were shared between patients.
Med Peds Clinic sent out a letter April 6 stating a medical assistant at the office took the pre-measured children's influenza vaccine and only gave half to each child, assuming it was the adult dosage. Children between 6 months and 35 months are only supposed to receive half of the recommended dosage for adults.
Since children are supposed to receive two doses of the pediatric influenza vaccine within a month of each other, the assistant removed the needle from each half-full syringe, assuming it was an adult dose, and replaced it with a sterile needle, but not a new syringe.
Med Peds said the medical assistant then placed the used syringes in a box marked "second doses," which also contained unused, fully filled pediatric vaccines.
The clinic says some of the half-used vaccines were then used inadvertently on children returning for their second shot....continue reading...
What's new in sexual health: CDC proposes new guidelines for the treatment of STDs
HEPATITIS C
Although mainly contracted through injection drug use, recent data indicate that hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection obtained through sexual contact may be more prevalent than previously thought, especially among HIV-infected persons. CDC data demonstrate that 10% of persons with acute HCV infection report contact with a known HCV-infected sex partner as their only risk for infection.1 Sexual transmission of HCV has been reported recently among HIV-infected MSM in numerous European cities and in New York City. Common practices associated with these clusters that may account for transmission of the infection include serosorting, group sex, and the use of cocaine and other non-IV drugs during sex. Unprotected sexual contact is also believed to facilitate the spread of HCV.
Continue reading...
From Liz Highleyman, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher @HIV and Hepatitis
BMS-790052/BMS-650032 Combo Cures Hepatitis C without Interferon
SUMMARY: Most prior non-responders with HCV genotype 1 achieved sustained response with a quadruple combination containing 2 experimental agents plus pegylated interferon/ribavirin, and nearly 40% did so using only the 2 oral drugs -- BMS-790052 and BMS-650032 -- researchers reported at EASL 2011.
BMS-790052 + Pegylated Interferon/Ribavirin Works Well for First HCV Treatment
SUMMARY: About 90% of treatment-naive genotype 1 hepatitis C patients achieved sustained response at 12 weeks post-treatment using the experimental HCV protease inhibitor BMS-790052 plus pegylated interferon/ribavirin, researchers reported at EASL 2011.
Immune-Based Therapy GS-9620 Shows Promise for Hepatitis B
SUMMARY: Gilead's GS-9620, an experimental TLR7 agonist, stimulated interferon production and activated B-cells and T-cells in laboratory and human studies, and was active against hepatitis B and a related virus in monkeys and woodchucks, researchers reported at EASL 2011.
HBV Genotype Predicts HBeAg Seroconversion on Tenofovir
SUMMARY: Chronic hepatitis B patients with HBV genotype A and lower HBsAg levels at baseline were more likely to experience HBeAg seroconversion during treatment with tenofovir (Viread), researchers reported at EASL 2011.
From Executive Director: Jules Levin @NATAP
EASL: Sustained Virologic Response and Boceprevir Resistance-Associated Variants Observed in Patients Infected With HCV Genotype 1a/1b When Treated With Boceprevir Plus Peginterferon Alfa-2b/Ribavirin: SVR rates among patients with G1b virus were consistently higher compared with G1a patients in both SPRINT-2 and RESPOND-2 - (04/12/11)
EASL: Frequencies of Resistance-Associated Amino Acid Variants Detected by 454 Sequencing During Combination Treatment With Boceprevir Plus Pegintron (Peginterferon Alfa-2b)/Ribavirin in HCV (GT1)-Infected Subjects - (04/12/11)
EASL: Overall Safety Profile of Boceprevir Plus Peginterferon Alfa-2b/Ribavirin - (04/12/11)
EASL: Anemia During Treatment With Peginterferon Alfa-2b/Ribavirin With or Without Boceprevir is Associated With Higher SVR Rates: Analysis of Previously Untreated and Previous Treatment-Failure Patients - (04/12/11)
EASL: Response-Guided Therapy With Boceprevir Plus Peginterferon Alfa-2b/Ribavirin Reduces Treatment Duration in Previously Untreated and Previous-Treatment-Failure Patients With HCV Genotype 1 - (04/12/11)
HIV rate in SF could be cut sharply with expanded treatment, study predicts
In addition, the study found that adding annual HIV testing for men who have sex with men in the city to universal treatment could bring the reduction in new infections down by 75 percent, the researchers report. "Our findings show that we can obtain even greater reductions in new HIV infections if we do a better job of encouraging people to get tested, continue to improve our linkages to care and offer treatment to all HIV patients."
NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
Pharmaceuticals
Back-Story; Yves Benhamou was charged with passing on some hot info about Hepatitis C to an unnamed hedge fund. The French doctor was working as a consultant for "Human Genome Sciences Inc. was charged by the U.S. with insider-trading for allegedly tipping off a hedge fund about negative results of Albuferon drug trials."
13 Apr 2011 at 9:33 AM
Former Frontpoint Trader Chip Skowron Gets His Day In Court
By Bess Levin
Reuters reports that Chip Skowran, the Frontpoint Partners employee who received tips from French doctor Yves Benhamou about Hepatitis C last year, is expected to show up in court today to discuss insider trading charges. Benhamou information to Skowran didn’t make Frontpoint any money, but allegedly helped it avoid losing $30 million by a timely sale of six million shares of drug maker Human Genome Sciences. (It also may have had something to do with investors redeeming en masse shortly thereafter and the shuttering of the fund.)
Merck plans job cuts
Company to sell 1 line, outsource others
By Marcia Moore and and Robert Stoneback
The Daily Item The Daily Item Wed Apr 13, 2011, 06:15 AM EDT
RIVERSIDE — Seven months after Merck bought back the plant it sold just a few years earlier, company officials Tuesday announced plans to sell off one product line and outsource others by the end of 2013 in an attempt to cut costs.
The plant will continue to focus on Merck’s core business of producing compounds for two antibiotics, Invanz and Primaxin. The plan is to sell the third-party fermentation operations and outsource manufacturing of active pharmaceutical ingredients for a cholesterol drug currently available in Europe and for an AIDs treatment.
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