New death toll for contaminated heparin

  Today, NPR reported that the number of deaths attributable to contaminated Heparin had risen above 100 for the 13 months from January of '07 to February of '08.  The Traverse City Record Eagle for April 9 cited a lower death total, in the 60s, for an undefined period. 

The contaminated Heparin is produced by a Wisconsin manufacturer and produced at a plant in China.  The contamination is thought to originate with an unlicensed supplier of raw material not regulated by the FDA or the Chinese government.  Further explanation of this issue is available in earlier blog entries discussing contaminated Heparin, under the title "product injuries".