Japan - Infected Fibrin glue believed used at 550 hospitals

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced Friday that 556 medical institutions nationwide are believed to have used fibrin glue, some of which is believed to have been made with tainted fibrinogen blood-clotting agents.
The medical glue, which is manufactured using fibrinogen and other chemicals, is widely used to suture and halt bleeding during medical procedures including cardiac surgery and operations to treat bone fractures and burns. Fibrin glue made with fibrinogen manufactured by Green Cross Corp., the predecessor of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp., is suspected of having caused hepatitis C infections.
Fibrin glue is estimated to have been used in the treatment of about 79,000 people, according to surveys by drugmakers. But the names of all the medical institutions that might have used fibrin glue have not been identified, and surveys looking to reveal this information have been delayed.
According to the documents the ministry released, the usage of the glue by large-scale medical institutions, such as university hospitals, stands out as a trend.
Breaking down the figures according to area, Tokyo ranked top with 46 institutions named in the documents, followed by Hokkaido, with 43, and Osaka and Aichi prefectures, with 39 and 28 institutions, respectively.
A ministry official said: "The list of medical institutions released this time does not comprehensively cover all the institutions that might have used fibrin glue. But we hope that people will take an examination as soon as possible to see if they have been infected on the basis of the information released."
The cases of hepatitis C infections are most likely to stem from the use of fibrin glue made using Green Cross fibrinogen between 1981 and 1987.
(Apr. 12, 2008)

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