News tagged with 'Hib'

While U.S. litigation against Merck over the drug Vioxx is winding down, in Canada it's heating up. A Saskatchewan class action cannot be established says a three judge panel, but Ontario says this action means the more than one million Canadians, who allege harm from Vioxx, can join in one national class action. 

Due to a continuing vaccine shortage, expected to continue until 2009, the CDC is urging doctors and state agencies to be more careful in suspected cases of invasive Haemophilus influenzae type B (HiB) in children younger than 5 years of age.

Heart failure is diagnosed in more than a half-million people each year and often women are most affected. During three decades the rate of heart failure doubled in people over the age of 65, while artery disease and the rate of strokes has fallen. Many risk factors leading to heart failure are preventable.

Prizer today announced it's agreed to a $900 million settlement to address the bulk of the Celebrex and Bextra lawsuits filed. Bextra is off the market because of its link to heart attack and stroke. Celebrex carries a black box warning.

Even though Vioxx and Bextra have been taken off the market because of a link to stroke and heart attack, a post-withdrawl study confirms the Cox-2 inhibitors increased the risk for stroke among Vioxx users by 28 percent and among Bextra users 41 percent when compared to the control group.