Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:
HIV Drug Combo May Hike Heart Risk: FDA
Combining two widely used HIV antiviral drugs can trigger potentially deadly irregular heartbeats, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Thursday.
The agency said fainting, lightheadedness and even death can occur if patients combine Roche’s Invirase and Abbott Laboratories’ Norvir, the Associated Press reported.
The companies have been ordered to add information about this risk to the drugs’ warning labels and to provide information pamphlets to patients, the FDA said.
Invirase is often combined with Norvir to improve its effectiveness, the AP reported. The drugs are used to control HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
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Health Officials Close Texas Food-Processing Plant
A vegetable and fruit processing plant in San Antonio, Texas has been closed by officials investigating 10 listeriosis cases, including five deaths.
The Department of State Health Services also ordered the recall of cut fresh fruit and vegetables in sealed packages that were distributed by the SanGar Produce & Processing Co. plant to schools, hospitals and restaurants, the Associated Press reported.
Six of the 10 listeriosis cases have been linked to chopped celery at the SanGar plant, according to state health officials. Listeriosis bacteria can cause muscle aches, fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
A statement released by SanGar president Kenneth Sanquist Jr. said that “independent testing showed the produce was absolutely safe,” the AP reported.
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4 Deaths Prompt Graco Strollers Recall
Entrapment and strangulation hazards have triggered the recall of about two million Graco strollers, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday.
The agency has received four reports of stroller-related infant deaths between 2003 and 2005, along with five reports of entrapment in the strollers, resulting in cuts and bruises, MSNBC reported.
The recall includes Graco Quattro Tour strollers and travel systems made before November 2006 and MetroLite stroller and travel systems made before July 2007. For a complete list of recalled strollers and travel systems, go to the Graco Web site at www.gracobaby.com.
Consumers with the recalled strollers can contact Graco at 877-828-4046 or to go the company’s Web site to obtain a free repair kit, MSNBC reported.