GEORGIA
FDA urges flu drugs if pregnant
Swine virus poses added risks to those women’s immune systems, agency says
Pregnant women should take prescription flu medicines if they are diagnosed with the new swine flu, health officials said Tuesday.
So far, the swine flu has not proved to be much more dangerous than seasonal influenza, and it’s not clear whether pregnant women catch swine flu more often than other people. But in general, flu poses added risks for pregnant women, said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pregnancy weakens a woman’s immune system, so she’s more likely to suffer pneumonia when she catches the flu. In earlier flu pandemics, infection also raised the risk of a premature birth, Schuchat said.
Risks from the virus are greater than the unknown risks to a fetus from the drugs Tamiflu and Relenza, Schuchat said at a news conference Tuesday.
Still, the flu medicines’ effectiveness is somewhat limited, studies have shown. They can relieve symptoms and shorten the disease by about a day. They only work if started within 48 hours of the first symptoms, and little is known about whether they cut the chances of serious flu complications. Most people recover from the flu with no medical treatment.
But a pregnant Texas woman who had swine flu died last week, and at least 20 other pregnant women have swine flu, including some with severe complications.
IRAQ
Father of suspect says military counselors ‘broke him’
The father of a U.S. soldier accused of gunning down five fellow troops at a combat stress clinic in Baghdad said Tuesday that his son felt poorly treated at the center and that counselors “broke him.” Wilburn Russell (above), 73, of Sherman, Texas, said Sgt. John Russell, 44, “wasn’t a mean person.”
The suspect recently had his weapon taken away because of concerns about his behavior, a senior U.S. military official said Tuesday. Russell was due to complete his third tour of duty in Iraq in August; he also had served in Bosnia and Kosovo.
The military has charged Russell with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. The shooting Monday is the deadliest case of soldier-on-soldier violence among U.S. personnel since the war began.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Flight transcript released
The haunting transcript of Continental Connection Flight 3407’s final moments — preserved by the cockpit voice recorder — was released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board at the start of a three-day public hearing to examine safety issues raised by the Feb. 12 crash in Buffalo.
Among those issues is whether pilot Marvin Renslow and first officer Rebecca Shaw responded properly to warnings that the Dash 8-Q400 Bombardier, a twin-engine turboprop, was nearing a stall.
In response to questioning from board members, officials from Manassas, Va.-based Colgan Air, which operated the flight for Continental, acknowledged the two apparently were not paying close attention to the aircraft’s instruments and failed to follow the airline’s procedures for handling an impeding stall in the final minutes of the flight.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Kids’ face paint recalled
The FDA on Tuesday warned consumers to stop using face paints commonly dabbed on children’s cheeks at parties, sporting events and other festivities and sold in retail stores.
The six face-paint products are being recalled after reports of rashes and skin irritation, according to the Food and Drug Administration. FDA spokeswoman Susan Cruzan said the products had yeast and mold counts above industry guidelines.
The FDA said it learned children had rashes, itchiness, burning sensations and swelling where the face paints were applied.
Fun Express Inc., which recalled the products, said it sold the items to 130 customers. For more information, visit www.fda.gov/medwatch.
SRI LANKA
49 killed at hospital
A mortar shell slammed into a crowd of wounded civilians waiting for treatment at the only medical facility left in Sri Lanka’s war zone Tuesday, killing 49 people in the third day of intense shelling in the area, health officials said.
The Tamil Tiger rebels blamed the government for the attack — the second deadly strike on the hospital this month — and called on the international community to push for an immediate cease-fire.
Sri Lankan officials denied responsibility, saying they had ceased using artillery and mortars weeks ago. But the UN humanitarian chief said there was evidence the government still was using heavy weapons.
TENNESSEE
DNA clears inmate
Paul House, a Tennessee Death Row inmate, was just one vote away from possible execution when a divided Supreme Court said three years ago that new DNA evidence called for reopening his case.
The Tennessee Supreme Court already had rejected his appeals, as had the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
On Tuesday, a local prosecutor who had vowed to retry him after that landmark Supreme Court ruling dropped all charges, saying a new round of DNA tests on four pieces of evidence from the crime scene — including hair and material from under the victim’s fingernails — all pointed to an unknown suspect.
The new evidence “raises a doubt about his culpability. We couldn’t go forward,” veteran prosecutor Paul Phillips said Tuesday.
