Here are some of the latest health and medical news
developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
Experts Raise Questions About Tamiflu
There is no evidence that Tamiflu can actually stop the flu and
drug maker Roche should release all its data on the drug, the
British Medical Journalsays.
Dozens of governments worldwide have stockpiled Tamiflu in case
of a global flu outbreak. The drug was widely used during the 2009
H1N1 swine flu pandemic, the
Associated Pressreported.
One researcher linked to the
British Medical Journalsaid European governments should sue
Roche.
"I suggest we boycott Roche's products until they publish missing Tamiflu data," wrote Peter Gotzsche, leader of the Nordic Cochrane Center in Copenhagen, Denmark. Governments should take legal action against Roche to recover money that was "needlessly" spent on stockpiling Tamiflu, Gotzsche suggested, the APreported.
In 2009, Cochrane Center scientists evaluated flu drugs and
found no proof that Tamiflu reduced the number of complications in
flu patients. The Cochrane researchers and the
British Medical Journalasked Roche to release all its
Tamiflu data.
"Despite a public promise to release (internal company reports) for each (Tamiflu) trial...Roche has stonewalled," journal editor Fiona Godlee wrote in an editorial last month.
In 2011, Tamiflu was included on a list of "essential medicine"
by the World Health Organization, which recommended the drug be
used to treat unusual influenza viruses such as bird flu.
"We do have substantive evidence it can stop or hinder progression to severe disease like pneumonia," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told the AP.
Roche released a statement saying it had complied with all legal
requirements on publishing data about Tamiflu and that it had given
Gotzsche and his colleagues 3,200 pages of information about the
drug.
"Roche has made full clinical study data...available to national health authorities according to their various requirements, so they can conduct their own analyses," the company's statement said.
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Nestle Recalls Nesquick Chocolate Powder
Possible salmonella contamination has led Nestle to voluntarily
recall some batches of Nesquick Chocolate Powder.
The company announced the recall after it learned that
ingredient supplier Omya Inc. had issued a recall of certain lots
of its calcium carbonate due to the possible presence of
salmonella. Calcium carbonate is an ingredient in Nesquick.
The recalled chocolate powder was distributed across the United
States and has a Best Before date of October 2014. No other
varieties of Nesquick powder or any sizes or flavors of Nesquick
ready-to-drink are included in the recall.
The recall covers the following Nesquick Chocolate Powder
products:
- 40.7 oz, (72 servings). UPC code, 0 28000 68230 9. Production
codes 2282574810 and 2282574820.
- 21.8 oz., (38 servings). UPC code 0 28000 68090 9. Productions
codes: 2278574810, 2278574820, 2279574810, 2279574820, 2284574820,
2284574830, 2285574810, 2285574820, 2287574820, 2289574810,
2289574820.
- 10.9 oz., (19 servings). UPC code 0 28000 67990 3. Production
code 2278574810.
Consumers with these products should return them to the place of
purchase or contact Nestle at 1-800-628-7679. No illnesses
associated with the recalled products have been reported, according
to Nestle.
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Company Will Discontinue 7Up with Antioxidants
The soft drink 7Up with antioxidants will be taken off the
market by 2013, says beverage maker Dr. Pepper Snapple Group.
The announcement was made after the consumer group Center for
Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) launched a lawsuit saying
that the drink's health claims are misleading and illegal. But the
Texas-based Dr. Pepper Snapple group said its decision to
discontinue 7Up with antioxidants had nothing to do with the
lawsuit, according to
CBS News/Associated Press.
The lawsuit charges that the drink's claims are misleading
because they give the impression that the antioxidants in the
product come from fruits pictured on the label, while they're
actually from added vitamin E.
The CSPI also argues that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
prohibits candies and soft drinks from being fortified with
nutrients. The lawsuit was launched on behalf of a California man
who bought the soft drink but said he didn't know the antioxidants
didn't come from fruit juices,
CBS/APreported.
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