Last week we shared the story of how MSNBC.com reporter JoNel Aleccia uncovered the FDA’s failure to take action on contaminated products manufactured by a Wisconsin company.
Shanoop and Sandra Kothari of Houston claim tainted alcohol prep wipes led to the death of their son, Harrison Kothari, 2. (Photo courtesy of MSNBC.com)
One couple believes alcohol prep pads used on their son were tainted with a bacterium, leading to his death. Aleccia shared with AHCJ members how she covered each step of the story, including what documents were useful and how she got them, to find that the FDA had known about problems in the manufacturer’s plant as early as 2009.
Now, Raquel Rutledge and Rick Barrett of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have written a detailed narrative about the FDA’s oversight of the Triad Group and H&P Industries, as well as the death of 2-year-old Harry Kothari and illnesses at the Children’s Hospital in Aurora, Colo.
Their narrative tells of the public health investigation, with FDA investigators visiting the factory day after day for weeks, children in Colorado getting sick and epidemiologists trying to find the source, the role of purchasing groups, Kothari’s death and the FDA’s heavily redacted inspection reports.
