PetnBlog Animal and Human Wellness

Major Veterinary Drug Recall

Linked To Serious Cat Health Problems - Information That You and Your Vet Need and May Not Have

This information came from a great article by Christie Keith on the SF Chronicle web site…

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/01/13/petscol011310.DTL - “Major veterinary drug recall gets bigger - Animal anesthetic drug pulled off market, but questions remain”

This article is about the Missouri plant shutdown and recall of drugs from Teva - the largest US maker of generic animal drugs - a recall that was not even partially announced by the FDA until five months after the shutdown. Some of the recall has yet to be announced. One of the recalled drugs has been linked to five cat deaths. And these drugs have been sold by at least seven major drug brands under their own labels.

One more example of lax enforcement by the FDA that puts the animals we love at risk.

Please contact your vet if you think your little ones have been given (or might be given) these drugs. And write your Senator and Congressperson to express your feelings about how the FDA has handled this.

Excerpts from that article…

“What if your veterinarian was using a recalled drug — and didn’t know it?

That’s not a hypothetical question. On Sept. 4, at least two veterinary drugs made by Teva Animal Health, Inc., a division of Israeli-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, were recalled by the FDA, which shut the company down in July. But few veterinarians or pet owners were aware of the recall until the end of December.

Although the reported deaths of five cats led the FDA to issue public recall notices on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29, just what products are involved, and over what time period        they were manufactured and sold, remains unclear.

The recalls involve two commonly used injectable veterinary drugs: butorphanol, a fast-acting opioid used to control pain from surgical procedures in dogs and cats, and the anesthetic agent ketamine.”

…

“The only explanation so far given as to just what’s wrong with the recalled ketamine came in a press release issued by the FDA on Dec. 22, which said, “This recall is being conducted as a result of an increased trend in serious adverse events associated with this product, including lack of effect, prolonged effect, and death.”"

…

“Although it was the nation’s largest manufacturer of generic animal drugs, almost no one in the veterinarian community had heard of Teva Animal Health until the FDA shut it down on July 31, citing adulterated drugs and multiple violations of good manufacturing practices at its St. Joseph, Mo., facility.

If you were a veterinarian or a member of the public, there was no further news about Teva until Dec. 22, when the FDA announced the company was recalling its injectable ketamine hydrochloride following the questionable deaths of five cats undergoing anesthesia with the drug.”

The article goes on to note:

- Teva made ketamine for a variety of major brands including “Ketaset (Fort Dodge/Pfizer), KetaVed (VEDCO), KetaThesia (Butler), VetaKet (LLOYD Laboratories), Ketaject (Phoenix), Keta-Sthetic (RVX), and AmTech Group, Inc.”

- The Teva butorphanol recall has still not been publicly announced, over six months since the plant was shut down
There is much more information in the article on the SF Chronicle web site - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2010/01/13/petscol011310.DTL - “Major veterinary drug recall gets bigger - Animal anesthetic drug pulled off market, but questions remain”

continue to read entire article »

January 17th, 2010 Posted by Bree | Animal and Pet Health, Pet Food Recalls | 2 comments