Health Highlights: Dec. 8, 2012
Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
South Africa's Nelson Mandela Hospitalized
Nelson Mandela, the first black president of once white-ruled
South Africa, was admitted to a military hospital Saturday for
medical tests. But the nation's president said there was "no cause
for alarm" over the 94-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner's health,
the
Associated Pressreported.
A statement issued on behalf of President Jacob Zuma said that
Mandela was doing well and was receiving medical care "consistent
for his age." The statement provided no other details, the
APsaid.
Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for fighting the racist
white rule system known as apartheid, became South Africa's first
black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. He later
retired from public life, and last made a public appearance in 2010
when South Africa hosted the World Cup soccer tournament, the news
service reported.
Mandela was hospitalized for a night in February for minor
diagnostic surgery for an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, he
was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for a respiratory
infection. He was released several days later, the
APreported.
During his years of imprisonment he contracted tuberculosis.
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3 More Mass. Compounding Pharmacies Ordered Closed
Three compounding pharmacies in Massachusetts have been ordered
to halt operations following unannounced inspections by state
regulators. The inspections came in the wake of a deadly meningitis
outbreak linked to another compounding pharmacy in the state, the
New England Compounding Center.
OncoMed Pharmaceutical Services stopped production at its
Waltham facility after an inspection revealed issues with the
storage of chemotherapy drugs. Pallimed Solutions was told to cease
production of sildenafil citrate (sold as Viagra) after inspectors
found that it had been prepared with improper components. The
Whittier Pharmacist was told to halt sterile compounding after
unspecified violations were identified,
CBS News/The Associated Pressreported.
As of Dec. 3, 363 cases of fungal meningitis and more than 150
spinal infections have been linked to contaminated steroid
injections made by the New England Compounding Center, according to
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thirty-six
people have died.
The outbreak has raised questions about the regulation of
compounding pharmacies, which mix medications. Food and Drug
Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg has asked lawmakers to
give the FDA more authority and funding to oversee compounding
pharmacies, which are regulated by states,
CBS News/APreported.
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Nurse in Kate Middleton Radio Prank Reportedly Commits
Suicide
News reports suggest that the nurse at a London Hospital who was
tricked into providing two Australian radio hosts with information
about the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy condition has committed
suicide.
At about 9:35 a.m. Friday, officers responded to reports of a
woman found unconscious at an address in central London, Scotland
Yard said. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and the death is
being treated as unexplained but not suspicious,
CBS Newsreported.
King Edward VII hospital confirmed the nurse's death.
Earlier this week, the two radio hosts called the hospital and
pretended to be Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles asking about
the Duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton, who was being
treated for severe morning sickness.
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