The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has recalled the Lubri-A sterile lubricating jelly after 380 patients contracted a yeast-like fungus from the product, used during procedures like the insertion of urinary catheters and ultrasound-guided insertion of venous catheters.
“As the source of the contamination is still under investigation and has not confirmed, all batches of Lubri-A are being recalled. Future manufacture and distribution of the product will be subject to review and authorisation by SAHPRA,” the regulator said.
In a letter to provincial heads of Health, acting director-general in the National Department of Health Jeanette Hunter wrote that the National Institute for Communicable Diseases had detected the fungus Wickerhamomyces anomalus (W.anomalus) as an emerging pathogen which is causing “serious infection” among immunocompromised and critically ill patients, including babies in neonatal units.
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