Warning: Bacteria Tainted Syringes Have Sickened Dozens In Two States

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Commonly used by people treating cancer at home, the heparin filled syringes used to flush clean intravenous and catheter lines, have caused over 40 people in the states of Illinois and Texas to develop life threatening blood infections.

Of the 20 Rush University Medical Center in Chicago outpatients who fell ill, 14 required hospitalization. Most were effectively treated with antibiotics, with only one patient currently remaining hospitalized said Dr. John Segreti, hospital epidemiologist.

The infections were caused by bacteria called Serratia marcescens (pronounced Sur-AY'-she-uh mar-SUH'-sens), found in a single batch of heparin-filled syringes made in Angier, N.C., by a company called Sierra Pre-Filled. The illness causes fever and chills, and can be quite serious if left untreated.

The president of Sierra Pre-Filled, Dushyant Patel, told reporters that the company is working with the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration to determine the source of the contamination. They have voluntarily recalled the implicated lot. "There's nothing out there anymore," Patel said.

The affected lot is 070926H, Dr. Arjun Srinivasan of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. He also stressed that the CDC is working to make sure doctors are alerted about the contamination and that more cases could surface.

"Our highest priority is to ensure that all of those cases that occur are identified."

Syringes from that batch also were sent to Colorado, Florida and Pennsylvania but infections so far have turned up only in Illinois and Texas.

Patients who think they used affected syringes are advised to contact their doctors.