Alcohol Prep Pads, Swabs And Swabsticks Recalled Due To Possible Bacillus Cereus Contamination

07 Jan 2011


After some isopropyl alcohol prep pads, alcohol swabs and alcohol swabsticks were found to have potential Bacillus cereus contamination, The Triad Group has announced a voluntary recall. The company stresses that both its Sterile and Non-sterile marked products form part of this recall.

The company added:

“We are, out of an abundance of caution, recalling these lots to ensure that we are not the source of these contaminations issues”

The products have been marketed in the United States, Europe and Canada under various labels, including:

• Boca/Ultilet
• Cardinal Health
• Conzellin
• CVS
• Moore Medical
• PSS Select
• VersaPro
• Walgreens

The affected products may also be identified with the “Triad Group” listed as the manufacturer.

If the prep pads, alcohol swabs or alcohol swabsticks are tainted, there is a risk of life-threatening infection for the patients, especially those whose immune systems are weak, as well as individuals who have undergone surgical procedures.

The Triad Group says that just one non-life-threatening report has been received; a skin infection.

These products are used before an injection to disinfect the area. They have been distributed throughout the USA, according to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and sold in pharmacy shops in a box of 100 packets.

Triad Group customers who sell the products wholesale to hospitals and retail outlets have been notified by certified mail, with instructions on how to send them back.

If you have any of these products do not use them, take them back to where you bought them for a full refund or telephone 262-538-2900 (Triad customer services, Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 4pm Central Time).

Source:FDA

Written by Christian Nordqvist 
Copyright: Medical News Today

A History of Microbiology in Philadelphia: 1880 to 2010 by Jim Poupard Ph.D.

From the erudite and recognized expert in the area of anti-infectives, with over a hundred scientific publications comes A History of Microbiology in Philadelphia: 1880 to 2010.

A History of Microbiology in Philadelphia: 1880 to 2010 is an informative book that will take readers back to 1880s when bacteriology started to become an identifiable discipline of science as it separated from established fields of medicine such as pathology, histology and microscopy. During this period, Philadelphia medical students traveled to Europe to learn more about this new specialty and brought this knowledge back to the city. This first generation of bacteriologists established crude laboratories and encouraged lectures in bacteriology to be included in the medical school curriculum.

A two-part release, the first part of this book focuses on the people and institutions that played a significant role in establishing bacteriology in Philadelphia. A second generation of bacteriologists contributed to the formation of academic departments at medical schools, research institutes, and pharmaceutical companies. In 1920, the formation of a branch of the Society of American Bacteriologists in Philadelphia set the stage for recording and documenting the evolution of bacteriology into microbiology with its many sub-specialties. This book attempts to summarize this evolution as it progressed in the Philadelphia area with an emphasis on the role the Eastern Pennsylvania Microbiology organization played in establishing Philadelphia as a center for teaching and research in this important area of science.