FDA Will Address Deaths of Four California Women
Fifteen to 20 scientists will convene in Atlanta in May to discuss a bacterium, which caused the deaths of four California women after taking Mifeprex, and another bacterium that has caused illnesses in hospitals and nursing homes nationwide, an FDA official said on Friday, the New York Times reports (Harris, New York Times, 2/11).
Mifeprex -- which is known generically as mifepristone -- when taken with misoprostol, can cause a medical abortion.
FDA in July 2005 issued a public health advisory warning for physicians to watch for any signs of sepsis or other infections among women taking the drug (California Healthline, 8/15/05).
According to the Times, "another intriguing mystery" is that all four cases of death related to Mifeprex occurred in California. The deaths were attributed to the bacterium Clostridium sordellii (New York Times, 2/11).