HEPATITIS DEATH TOLL CLIMBS TO 40 IN BRAZIL.Byline: Gary Richman Associated Press An outbreak of hepatitis spread by contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. dialysis machines has now killed 40 kidney patients in northeastern Brazil. The 40th victim, who died Friday, was one of 126 patients who underwent dialysis Feb. 10-16 at the Kidney Disease Kidney Disease Definition Kidney disease is a general term for any damage that reduces the functioning of the kidney. Kidney disease is also called renal disease. Institute in Caruaru, 1,500 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, city, Brazil Rio de Janeiro (rē`ō də zhänā`rō, Port. rē`  thĭ zhənĕē`r . The health department in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco Pernambuco (pərnəmb  `k), state (1991 pop. 7,127,855), 37,946 sq mi (98,280 sq km), NE Brazil, on the Atlantic Ocean. has said the water that ran through the dialysis machines was contaminated with a blue algae algae (ăl`jē) [plural of Lat. alga=seaweed], a large and diverse group of primarily aquatic plantlike organisms. These organisms were previously classified as a primitive subkingdom of the plant kingdom, the thallophytes (plants that that produced a deadly toxin that attacked patients' livers. One investigator, Sandra Azevedo, said the toxin was also found at the Caruaru water treatment center, creating panic among townspeople. The toxin has not been identified. Hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver, can be caused by a number of agents. All of the victims have had similar symptoms: yellowed eyes, water retention in the stomach, high blood pressure, frequent vomiting and weight loss. Sixty-eight patients remain hospitalized; the remaining 18 have no symptoms. People with malfunctioning kidneys must periodically have their blood cleaned. Dialysis machines use water and a solution of salts and bicarbonate to filter a patient's blood. The state health department confirmed last week that the kidney institute failed to conduct quarterly water quality tests. A state health inspector had not visited the center in more than two years. The center has been shut and the federal government has ordered an audit of Brazil's more than 400 kidney dialysis Dialysis, Kidney Definition Dialysis treatment replaces the function of the kidneys, which normally serve as the body's natural filtration system. clinics, which treat 23,000 patients. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control have sent a three-person team to investigate the deaths, which a spokesman has said is the worst known incident of dialysis contamination. |
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