Poor Sanitation Found At Pharmacy

On October 26, 2012, in an article named, “F.D.A Details Contamination on Pharmacy” from The New York Times, Sabrina Tavernise reported about findings of the Food and Drug Administration on a company whose tainted pain medicine has caused harm to patients. The company, which is the New England Compounding Center is responsible for a national meningitis outbreak in which 25 people have died, 313 more have fallen ill, and about 14,000 have been exposed. The F.D.A. discovered that there was a greenish-yellow residue on sterilized equipment and that most of the tools’, such as testing dishes, surfaces were covered with levels of mold and bacteria. Experts stated that in some cases there were so many bacteria or fungi in a sample that the whole testing dish was overrun with overgrowth. Inspectors said that eighty-three out of three hundred twenty one vials linked to the meningitis outbreak. Also, the company’s air conditioner was off at night between the times 8:00 p.m. and 5:30 a.m., despite the importance of regulating temperature and humidity. In a room where sterile drugs are made it is exceptionally important to have air conditioner on because it holds back the growth of microbes. Not only did the unsanitary company’s practices lead to bacteria overgrowth on tools that need to be sterile, but also it led to the death of people, who could have been treated in a more helpful way. Russel E. Madison, a consultant on sterility issues to the pharmaceutical industry, stated, "In all my time in the pharmaceutical industry, which is 45 years, I've never seen one this bad" (The New York Times).