BMJ  2006;332:1290 (3 June), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7553.1290

News

In brief

Morphine warning issued: Inappropriately high doses of morphine led to seven deaths among patients in England and Wales between 2000 and 2005. The National Patient Safety Agency has warned that many deaths involved the mistaken selection of 30 mg ampoules of diamorphine and morphine instead of lower strength ones, causing overdoses. See www.npsa.nhs.uk/advice.

BMA calls for reinstatement of medical supplies to Gaza: The BMA has called on the UK foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, to exclude essential drugs and medical equipment from economic sanctions currently in force against the Palestinian Authority. A letter in last week's BMJ(2006;332: 1276[Free Full Text]) described as shameful the lack of international outcry concerning the humanitarian crisis in the Israeli occupied territories.

New cases of bird flu confirmed: Indonesia's health ministry has confirmed six new cases of H5N1 avian flu in various parts of the country, taking the country's total to 48 cases, of which 36 were fatal. The family cluster in north Sumatra represents probable limited human to human transmission, but World Health Organization investigators have found no evidence of the virus mutating to become widely transmissable.

Primary care contract awarded: The NHS has awarded a contract to an independent company to run a primary care service in London. Care UK will run a general practice serving 7000 patients and a walk-in centre, open daily, in Barking and Dagenham.

Donors' pet rodents can affect transplant success: Pet rodents can pass a deadly viral infection to recipients of organ transplants, says a report from the Centers for Disease Control in the New England Journal of Medicine(2006:354; 2235-49[Abstract/Free Full Text]). The same strains of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus implicated in the deaths of seven patients who received new kidneys, livers, or lungs had been found in the pets of organ donors.

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Kmietowicz, Z. (2006). Rules for drug trials should be tightened, say experts.. BMJ 333: 276-276 [Full text]