As many as 12 suspected Ebola virus cases have been reported in Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC’s) Equateur province, according to a DRC media report in French that was translated and posted yesterday by FluTrackers Also, officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed to Stat that 12 suspected cases Deaths occurred between January 10 and January 22 The official said samples have been sent to the National Institute of Biomedical Research in Kinshasa the outbreak would mark Equateur’s province’s fourth Ebola outbreak since 2018.  Equateur province is the western part of the DRC, far from where fighting is underway in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province in the east. The province’s last outbreak occurred between April and July of 2022 in Mbandaka Sequencing suggested the outbreak was triggered by a new spillover event from an animal rather than linked to a previous outbreak A new study comparing blood samples from menopausal women pre- and post-COVID shows that those with elevated leukocyte (white blood cell) counts may be at greater risk of experiencing more severe symptoms of long COVID The study was published yesterday in the journal Menopause The study was a secondary analysis of data collected through the Women's Health Initiative and used leukocyte count as a proxy for systemic inflammation 1,237 women with blood samples available from enrollment (taken in 1993 to 1998 25 years prior to the pandemic) were surveyed from June 2021 to February 2022 about COVID-19 illnesses and symptoms.  The authors found that white blood cell count was positively associated with severity of post-COVID symptoms but not associated with overall long-COVID occurrence or long-COVID–related cognitive outcomes.  High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) concentrations was available for less than 27% of participants and was not associated with any long-COVID symptoms.  the authors said heightened inflammation before contracting COVID-19 may contribute to the development of significant post-COVID symptoms.  Several studies have shown that older adults are at greater risk of developing long COVID.  Post-acute sequelae of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 infection significantly affects quality of life This effect is particularly pronounced in women we can better address these challenges and work to mitigate the cascade of symptoms that follow." Researchers from Indiana University (IU) and Makerere University in Uganda suggest that high uric acid concentrations (hyperuricemia) are a risk factor for serious complications, death, or long-term neurodevelopmental problems in children diagnosed as having severe malaria (SM), according to a study published last week in Nature Medicine malaria is a leading cause of death in African children "The emergence of drug resistance against [malaria drug] artemisinin derivatives in East Africa threatens to reverse gains in reducing SM mortality," the authors noted "Numerous adjunctive therapies for SM have failed to reduce mortality in clinical trials suggesting the need for a better understanding of mechanisms leading to mortality." The team analyzed two groups of 1,213 children 967 of them with SM and 246 community controls which leads to a buildup of body waste in the blood Hyperuricemia was caused mainly by ruptured infected red blood cells and kidney injury Hyperuricemia was tied to serious complications (eg a higher risk of death during or after hospitalization Additional studies are needed to determine whether lowering uric acid in children with severe malaria might reduce hospital deaths post-discharge deaths and long-term cognitive impairment a significantly higher percentage of children who died from malaria had hyperuricemia (36% vs 13% in cohort 1; 81% vs 32% in cohort 2) children with hyperuricemia were at nearly four times the risk for death after adjustment for age and sex those with hyperuricemia had nine times the risk of death as controls.  Blood uric acid (BUA) level and risk of in-hospital death were significantly linked even among children with levels below the hyperuricemia threshold suggesting a dose-response relationship between BUA and death.  Children with hyperuricemia had more harmful gut bacteria, which can cross the injured gut lining and cause sepsis. "Additional studies are needed to determine whether lowering uric acid in children with severe malaria might reduce hospital deaths, post-discharge deaths and long-term cognitive impairment," co-senior author Andrea Conroy, PhD, of IU, said in a university news release Global Virus Network scientists highlight the need for robust surveillance and readiness for potential human-to-human viral transmission only the severe infections continued to cause symptoms.  Almost 90% of the European cases were reported in Romania The Wall Street Journal reports the Trump administration is investing $500 million in the universal vaccine project There are currently 59 herds quarantined in 4 Idaho counties The CDC today addressed what's known about treatments pushed by Kennedy urging caution about vitamin A use and citing individual decision-making by heath providers for others Yet uptake of the vaccine was extremely low—less than 4% through November 2024 Today Novavax weighed in on the FDA's latest stipulations noting that postmarketing commitments aren't unusual and are in place for many approved drugs and biologics 44% of respondents said the new leaders will make them trust their health recommendations less than they used to and Ohio notes an infection in an unvaccinated adult CIDRAP - Center for Infectious Disease Research & PolicyResearch and Innovation Office Email us © 2025 Regents of the University of Minnesota All rights Reserved.The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer Research and Innovation Office |   Contact U of M  |  Privacy Policy Newsletter subscribe The Cidra Tornados were crowned champions of the third season of the U-12 League of the Puerto Rico Baseball Federation (FBPR) after achieving shutout victories of 10-0 and 11-0 against the Juana Díaz Pirates. This marks the first national title for the Tornados in this league, whose previous champions were the Vega Alta Maceteros in 2022 and 2023. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Federación de Béisbol Puerto Rico ⚾️🇵🇷 (@beisbol.pr) Cidra dominated the final series with two wins in shortened four-inning games striking out five batters and allowing only one hit Catcher Elisahir Rivera stood out with two RBIs and two runs scored while Jayden Richardson crossed the plate three times pitcher Dereck Ramos shone by striking out six batters and limiting the Pirates to just two hits Deniel Figueroa led the offense with three RBIs while Richardson continued his excellent performance with two runs scored and two hits Richardson was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final series the FBPR's U-12 and U-15 Leagues featured 37 teams and a 16-game regular season These leagues aim to strengthen the Puerto Rican youth national teams and promote the development of baseball in Puerto Rico Sitemap Media Data Protection Contacts Avenue Général-Guisan, 45 CH-1009 Pully | Switzerland The WBSC is recognised as the sole competent authority in Baseball and Softball by the International Olympic Committee The United Kingdom’s Health Security Agency (HSA) today reported a human H5N1 avian flu infection in a person who had close and prolonged contact with a large number of sick birds on a farm Some European countries, including the UK, are battling H5N1 in poultry and wild birds, and on January 24, the UK’s Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) ordered that the avian flu prevention zone be expanded to cover all of England.  The H5N1 detection in a human is the UK’s first since 2023 when surveillance detected infections in poultry workers the HSA said the patient is from the West Midlands region and that the patient is well and has been admitted to a high consequence infectious disease unit Birds on the farm were infected with the DI.2 genotype a virus known to be circulating in UK birds emphasizing that the H5N1 strain is different than the one circulating in mammals and birds in the United States in the United States and Canada were infected with viruses that belonged to the different D1.1 genotype The HSA said it has been tracking all people who have had contact with infected animals and that no human-to-human spread has been detected said there is no indication of onward transmission related to the case “The risk of avian flu to the general public remains very low despite this confirmed case We have robust systems in place to detect cases early and take necessary action as we know that spillover infections from birds to humans may occur.”   Officials said birds on the affected farm are being culled “We are seeing a growing number of avian flu cases in birds on both commercial farms and in backyard flocks across the country Implementing scrupulous biosecurity measures will help protect the health and welfare of your birds from the threat of avian influenza and other diseases.” the UK’s minister for public health and prevention said though the risk of onward transmission is low the UK is ready to respond to future threats and recently added the H5 avian flu vaccine to its national stockpile Editor's note: This story was corrected on January 28 to accurately reflect the genotype of the UK patient's virus and earlier H5N1 detections in the UK WALLINGFORD, Conn.–( BUSINESS WIRE )–CiDRA Holdings LLC the parent company of CiDRA Minerals Processing Inc is proud to announce the appointment of Stéphane Leblanc to its Board of Directors Stéphane brings a wealth of experience and insight to CiDRA stepping down from his role as President/CEO of Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium in 2022 Stéphane was instrumental in driving growth and operational improvements across operations in Canada managing 8,000 employees and contractors with sales revenues of $2 billion His commitment to safety and technological advancements particularly in the areas of green smelting underscores his ability to lead in innovation-driven environments Prior to his time at Rio Tinto Iron & Titanium Stéphane was Managing Director/President at Rio Tinto Kennecott where he led financial and operational improvements and facilitated cultural transformations he was Managing Director at Rio Tinto Alcan Sebree Smelter where he led 500 unionized employees and managed $400 million in sales revenue His achievements include reducing the recordable injury rate by 75% successfully negotiating contracts and employee incentives and implementing continuous improvement initiatives “Stéphane’s strategic vision and operational acumen have driven improvements in safety productivity and profitability throughout his career His extensive experience managing operations across multiple countries and dedication to leveraging technological advancements for operational improvement make him an invaluable asset to CiDRA,” said Dr Chairman of the Board of Directors of CiDRA Holdings LLC is a leading provider of process optimization products and services to the mining industry Its SONARtrac ® flowmeters are the industry standard for flow measurement technology for mining slurries and entrained air and its CYCLONEtrac particle size tracking system is the leading particle size measurement technology for individual hydrocyclones improve recoveries and contribute to sustainable resource management CiDRA currently serves more than 327 mining operations in 71 countries CiDRA has recently introduced an innovative engineered media mineral recovery technology based on a century of traditional flotation and reagent knowledge and eliminating the limitations associated with flotation bubbles This transformative development in mineral recovery enables coarse particles down to 2 mm to be recovered with less than 1% mineral surface expression achieving unprecedented recovery rates of 85% to 95% for very coarse feed streams in a very short retention time of less than 3 minutes The high hydrophobicity of the engineered media with an adjustable contact angle greater than 135 degrees allows for seamless integration with traditional flotation slurry chemistries facilitating circuit integration for brownfield expansions Key benefits of CiDRA technology include a 20-40% reduction in grinding energy and a potential 40% increase in water recovery enabling high upgrading rates with comparatively low mass removal CiDRA’s strategic applications – the grinding circuit desander and desander pre-cleaner – significantly improve plant throughput while reducing specific energy consumption These initiatives align well with CiDRA’s commitment to responsibly and sustainably utilizing resources to meet global raw material demand The original source-language text of this announcement is the official Translations are provided for accommodation only and should be cross-checked with the source-language text which is the only version of the text that will have legal effect © Copyright 2012 - 2023 | citybiz | All Rights Reserved This work, Work continues through the holidays to restore power to Cidra residents, by Gerald Rogers, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright In the 18 years that Cidra Sebastien spent at Harlem’s Brotherhood/ Sister Sol then sent them off to college with the kind of goals and aspirations they found hard to imagine from the constraints of their sometimes-limiting New York bubble turned Associate Executive Director of an organization lauded by educational leaders and social justice champions like Harry Belafonte as a model for student development and achievement helping young people’s possibilities take flight The morning of our chat, just weeks before officially signing off from the not-for-profit she started working at during her days as a Hampton University student The unexpected snow shower put a small blip in her lengthy commute from Brooklyn to Harlem ready to pour her heart into what will likely be among the last media interviews she will have as leadership at “Bro/Sis.” which stands unassumingly between 143rd and 144th in Harlem’s Hamilton Heights neighborhood is more than just an edifice where student’s futures are molded It’s a place where students find their voice so that they can not only change their lives but also what’s going on within their families “I think that is unique,” the long-time youth advocate insists “Some youth organizations or programs that service young people are thinking about serving young people for this one particular goal that all connect to them developing as adults who are able to positively contribute to their community who develop a lens for and around social change and social justice And we’re pursuing this kind of life long journey of learning and growing.” Since its establishment in 1995, Bro/Sis, which was founded by childhood friends Jason Warwin and Khary Lazarre-White on the campus of Brown University, has had a mission to create a supportive community for young people They wanted to give them permission to see beyond their debilitating circumstances and envision existing in a world that is far greater than the one they currently know 700 more who interact with the program throughout the boroughs of New York and the countless others who have come through the program over the last 25 years Attending an HBCU for her undergrad education was an opportunity for the Brooklyn-bred activist to see a world outside of the county of Kings It was a place where students had parents with careers as NBA coaches and judges—where Black America extended far beyond her Bushwick block and doors were open to people who had the audacity to walk through them In her nearly two-decade period at the program Sebastien’s work revolved around giving that same realization to her students “I was really doing significant work that was important for me,” Sebastien tells ESSENCE of her early work with the program I knew that I would keep being involved in some way I didn’t think it would be 20 years later that I would [still] be involved which has been really amazing and beautiful in lots of different ways.” there are so many things that you know about it and sometimes it doesn’t hit you until now That journey has taken Sebastien to speaking engagements and graduations all throughout the five boroughs and Cuba for a study abroad program involving a four-week in-country stay for students many of whom received their first passport stamps through their participation in the program Six months leading up to the trip the young people focus their learning on the history of the place they intend to visit The Summer Leadership Program is just one component of the Bro/Sis curriculum The Brotherhood/Sister Sol’s Rites of Passage (ROP) Program The goal of the latter is to empower youth through weekly discussions that focus on history and culture while also providing a safe space where students can talk about social and political issues and challenges of young adulthood while being offered guidance from mentors and peers Sebastien says that the opportunity to be in community with the youth is what kept her motivated on the work “I feel there’s something every week different populations of folks differently But speaking specifically to our young people who are first-gen or second-generation immigrants there’s a lot of — it’s a combination of anger silencing the fears won’t be her responsibility anymore She’s spent her entire adult life pouring into the youth she’s aware that the next chapter is closer than it ever has been the realization of that kicks in and the tears start to flow.  and sometimes it doesn’t hit you until now,” she tearfully shares “So I feel so many things have been hitting me these last few months as I kind of hear the clock ticking louder and louder who always gives me a fist bump and tells me ‘good morning.’ Being here when young people come into the space because it’s that rush of energy from young people Some of my closest friends and longest mentors are people that I work with This fall the Brotherhood/Sister Sol will move into a brand new, 20,000 square foot building that will help continue the tradition of rearing Harlem’s next leaders Sebastien will noticeably be missing from its hallways she maintains that the program that she dedicated nearly half of her life to the innate nurturer says it’s time to take care of herself “I’m definitely going to carve out time to rest and spend some time with people that I care about and just see some new things,” Sebastien says.  When she started at Bro/Sis she could have never imagined where the years would have taken her and as the chapter comes to a close she’s happy to be unclear on what exactly comes next — Members of a Palm Springs church said Saturday they're being fined upwards of $5,000 for holding large outdoor services in the parking lot a violation notice is posted stating that no permit was ever obtained to hold the outdoor events what you're seeing right now is an unprecedented assault on freedom of religion in the United States of America," said Chris Nelson attendee and co-founder of Reopen South Florida churches in the state are allowed to operate at full capacity "We're here to spread the love of Jesus Christ and you can't do that 6 feet apart," said Nelson masks were optional and hundreds of people were seen close together "You are going to find people are going to get sick from that there's no question in my mind about that," said infectious disease Dr Diaz said large gatherings without social distancing and masks increase community spread of the coronavirus "You either you do it the right way or you don't you face the negative impact that this brings to the community as a spreader event," said Diaz we're protected by it," said attendee Giovanni Barazza Those at the church said their services should be able to operate at full capacity They're doing what they want to do as far as I don't think there's anything wrong with that." WPTV has contacted the village of Palm Springs for comment where people are taking a stand and saying Customers will now be able to measure up to five particle size outputs Connecticut-based CiDRA has added new capabilities to its CYCLONEtrac particle size measurement and tracking system for its mineral processing technology The mineral separation technology processes slurry streams in gold and copper processes The new option will enable customers to measure particle sizes throughout the cluster using real-time P80 measurement Improving the tracking of particle sizes reduces variability in sizes and also ensures that oversize particles do not enter the flotation circuits CiDRA has also upgraded its sensor technology to include a condition-based monitoring feature that enables predictive maintenance for sensor replacement The new system will have a "time to live" bar to be displayed on the software system display A warning will also be sent to the plant control system when it is time to replace the sensors Installing the CiDRA system expands the range of what mining companies understand about their mining process CiDRA reported one senior manager from a copper mine as saying "There is a wealth of new information that none of us have seen before regarding cyclone cluster operation," John Viega Vice President of Global Sales and Service In January, CiDRA said it was choosing Texas-based Koch Project Solutions to front-end engineering and design services for the mineral separation technology as a way to fast-track commercialisation of the technology CiDRA had undertaken bench testing at over 15 mine sites as well as a pilot program at a North American mine to demonstrate how it improves copper and gold recovery rates each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector brought to you by the Mining Magazine Intelligence team MMI Future Fleets Report 2025 looks at how companies are using alternative energy sources to cut greenhouse gas emmissions Exclusive research for Mining Magazine Intelligence Automation and Digitalisation Report 2024 shows mining companies are embracing cutting-edge tech The ESG Mining Company Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars A comprehensive review of exploration trends and technologies highlighting the best intercepts and discoveries and the latest initial resource estimates Aspermont Media is a company registered in England and Wales The newly formed partnership between Worley CiDRA and OZ Minerals demonstrates a unique collective commitment to efficiently accelerate global copper production and progress towards global electrification and meeting the net zero goal in a responsible OZ Minerals and CiDRA Minerals Processing have commissioned a front end engineering and design (FEED) study for a full-scale implementation of CiDRA’s novel minerals separation technology at the Carrapateena mine site Applying CiDRA’s technology as a grind circuit rougher will help remove coarse material from the grind circuit circulating loads “CiDRA has a long history of delivering innovative process optimisation solutions to the global minerals processing industry and through our history we have relied on likeminded partners to bring our technology to market,” CiDRA president Paul Rothman said we have worked closely with OZ Minerals to evaluate and innovate our P29 technology to help meet their long-term expansion goals “We are pleased with our partnership with Worley to deliver our first of a kind technology in a collaborative and efficient way.”  The increase in throughput provided by the grind circuit rougher is achieved without increasing total power consumption which translates to a 20 per cent reduction in energy per unit ton Worley will provide FEED for the project. Worley teams in Adelaide Calgary and on secondment to CiDRA’s facility in Wallingford These services follow the pre-FEED phase of the project “As a global professional services company headquartered in Australia we are pleased to be engaged in this important project,” Worley global sector lead mining “Our partnership with CiDRA and OZ Minerals is one of the ways we’re helping our customers adapt existing assets to improve efficiency and mineral recovery while also supporting our strategic focus on sustainability and delivering a more sustainable world.”  Upon final investment decision and selection by OZ Minerals for the project to progress CiDRA and Worley expect to negotiate the subsequent detailed engineering and execution phases of the project Subscribe to Energy Today for the latest project and industry news © document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) All Rights Reserved Energy Today is a registered trademark of Prime Creative Media CiDRA (“CiDRA”) announced that it has entered into a distributor agreement with Yokogawa Australia & New Zealand Yokogawa will sell CiDRA’s SONARtrac range of flow meters into the Australian and New Zealand minerals processing sector CiDRA’s line of SONARtrac flow meters provides accurate and reliable flow measurements for mining applications SONARtrac flow meters do not have any moving or process-wetted parts that are subject to wear and are installed externally to the outside of any type of pipeline This non-intrusive design translates into long life and enhanced operational effectiveness for the monitoring of mining flow processes Managing Director of Yokogawa Australia and New Zealand said “the opportunity to distribute the SONARtrac line of flow meters from CiDRA was very welcome as it provided Yokogawa with access to a product that our customers have been asking for We look forward to a successful partnership with CiDRA in providing a cost effective and reliable flow measurement solution for our mining clients.” CiDRA’s country manager for Australia and New Zealand “Yokogawa Australia & New Zealand is a leading supplier of process control systems and instruments into the Australian and New Zealand mining industries Their depth of knowledge and presence in Australia mining and mining processes together with CiDRA’s SONARtrac flow technology will help serve the broader market in Australia and New Zealand.” Additional information about Yokogawa Australia & New Zealand can be found at www.yokogawa.com/au/ Gruyere gold mine joint venture partners Gold Fields and Gold Road Resources reach agreement on a friendly deal to consolidate ownership. The initiative will be delivered through the regional joint venture established by Fleet Space Technologies and Tahreez. The US central bank is widely expected to hold rates steady in this meeting. Romania has major reserves of rare earths, gold and copper, which have attracted interest from Canadian and American firms. Print Reporting from Mayaguez Puerto Rico — Joel Cotto and Jesús González picked up their fishing nets after a full day at a lake in Cidra feeling good about their bucket full of shrimp and fish known as chopas The friends said they had become fishermen after Hurricane Maria devastated the island Sept 20 because food had become so scarce for their families said the hurricane ripped the roof off his home in Aguas Buenas a municipality in the island’s central region “We have to fish for what we are going to eat today.” many Puerto Ricans are making substantial adjustments to their lives based on hurricane-related devastation to the island Despite some aid reaching residents during the past four weeks many people have had to find new ways to at least temporarily feed their families electricity and shelter all remain desperately scarce on the island The hurricane wiped out thousands of homes decimated agriculture and cut power and phone lines making it difficult for most of Puerto Rico’s 3.4 million residents to communicate with family or aid services Some roads in mountainous regions contort and contract with mudslides that expose precipices on each side people have been left isolated by collapsed bridges in communities that already were off the beaten path The number of deaths associated with the hurricane rose to at least 49 and that number was expected to go up again Officials said dozens of people are still missing Rossello was in Washington on Thursday trying to secure more aid for the island whose administration has been criticized for its response to the devastation in Puerto Rico Despite help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies as well as private fundraising and aid efforts many residents in Puerto Rico remain in trouble Thousands have left the island to be with or near relatives on the mainland a teacher at the Luis Muñoz Rivera school in the Rio Piedras section of San Juan said the island is in crisis despite a tendency for many people to put on a brave face But there has not been a day when I have not come home crying because I am thinking of a mother who came to me saying that we have no food,” she said Quiñones said she feels hopeful when she sees members of her community working to rebuild neighborhoods with their own hands She has a child with special needs who has taken to working on their vegetable garden which they replanted days after the storm hit is part of an interdisciplinary team of professionals working at one of the “Stop and Go” centers a government initiative where residents go for food medical care and help filling out paperwork for federal aid “I am worried about the people who have bedridden family members living in their homes who depend on a respirator,” she said “Can you imagine what it is like to need to breathe and not have oxygen?” Among those recently at the Jose Celso Barbosa school where Rivera Diaz works was Roberto Bonilla He was grateful for the warm plate of food he received A helicopter bringing aid lands in the mountain community of Castaner (Milton Carrero Galarza / For The Times ) Many island residents remain without electricity with some of the more fortunate ones resorting to generators for power Los Angeles Dodgers player Enrique Hernandez who hit three home runs as the Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs on Thursday night to advance to the World Series said his mother and other family members in Puerto Rico watched the game on a television powered by a generator and his fiancee had set up an online fundraising platform that as of Friday had surpassed its goal of raising $100,000 said he’s an avid sports fan and would have watched the game if not for the lack of electricity He found out later about how well Hernandez had done “Puerto Rico needs good news with everything that has happened after the hurricane.” Officials said the water reaching about two-thirds of the homes on the island is now considered safe to drink but they acknowledged that damage to the main laboratories responsible for measuring water quality has made it difficult to conduct rigorous testing The Environmental Protection Agency has urged residents to boil water before drinking it Among the warnings from government officials was that people should not take water from natural streams because fluid from sewers was leaking into some rivers The lake where Cotto and González were fishing is not far from the La Plata River which officials say has been contaminated by sewage runoff “I don’t think it is contaminated because we have eaten fish from it before,” Gonzalez said Kelly might not be like Trump, but he seems like many Trump voters Obama stumps for Democrats and takes a few swipes at that guy who succeeded him Officer killed in Las Vegas shooting left funeral instructions: ‘Remember me for who I was’ World & Nation California Hollywood Inc. Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map A whistleblower who exposed serious contamination problems at GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) pharmaceutical manufacturing operations has been awarded $96m (£60m) Cheryl Eckard's payment is thought to be the biggest ever handed to a US whistleblower when GSK agreed to pay the US government $750m to settle civil and criminal charges that it manufactured and sold adulterated drug products Speaking outside the federal courthouse in Boston after the award was agreed Eckard admitted she was "a little emotional" "It's difficult to survive this financially because all your friends are people you have at work," she said "You really do have to understand that it's a very difficult process but very well worth it." where GSK made a range of products including an antibiotic ointment for babies led a team sent to the plant to investigate manufacturing violations that had been identified by the US Federal Drugs Administration (FDA) Eckard lost her job nine months later after warning that the problems ran deeper than the FDA realised said she was made redundant against her will in May 2003 after repeatedly complaining to GSK's management that some drugs made at Cidra were being produced in a non-sterile environment that the factory's water system was contaminated with micro-organisms and that other medicines were being made in the wrong doses "Cheryl Eckard is a role model for whistleblowers," said Lesley Ann Skillen said the case should serve as a warning to other pharmaceutical companies "We will not tolerate corporate attempts to profit at the expense of the ill and needy in our society," Ortiz told a press conference last night Eckard tried to alert GSK's management to the situation in Cidra even after she left the company. According to the lawsuit brought by Eckard, she tried to call GSK's chief executive JP Garnier in July 2003 She took her concerns to the FDA in August 2003 after concluding that GSK's compliance department lacked the authority to address her concerns Getnick & Getnick said the case was particularly significant because it was so difficult for patients to spot deficiencies with medicines it's gone and there may be no way of telling whether someone got sick because the product was bad As a result of this settlement and guilty plea drugmakers will now have more reason to live up to their motto that patient safety is their first priority," Skillen said The Cidra factory had been GSK's largest manufacturing operation but was closed last year Drugs made at the plant include Bactroban ointment a topical antibiotic used to treat skin infections in babies an anti-nausea drug used by cancer patients anti-depressant treatment Paxil CR and Avandamet GSK announced in July that it would pay $750m to settle the charges and the details were finally agreed on Tuesday in Boston GSK said that it had worked hard to resolve the problems at Cidra adding that it has not received any warnings from the FDA since 2002 "We regret that we operated the Cidra facility in a manner that was inconsistent with current good manufacturing practice requirements and with GSK's commitment to manufacturing quality," said PD Villarreal GSK's senior vice-president and head of global litigation Eckard's lawsuit was filed under the False Claims Act legislation that dates back to the days of Abraham Lincoln It is designed to allow private citizens with knowledge of fraud on the government to sue and share in the proceeds of the recovery Of all the things that you trust every day you want to believe your prescription medicine is safe and effective The pharmaceutical industry says that it follows the highest standards for quality we found out just how much could go wrong at one of the world's largest drug makers A subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline pleaded guilty to distributing adulterated drugs There was reason to believe that some of the medications were contaminated with bacteria and some were too strong or not strong enough It's likely Glaxo would have gotten away with it had it not been for a company insider: a tip from Cheryl Eckard set off a major federal investigation She's never told the public what she saw inside Glaxo Her story opens a rare window on how one company traded its good name for bad medicine GSK regrets the manufacturing issues at the Cidra facility which were inconsistent with GSK's commitment to manufacturing quality that the issues outlined in the 60 Minutes story occurred in the past -- between 2001 and early 2005 -- and related to one manufacturing facility Food and Drug Administration to improve the plant's performance as early as 2001 before Cheryl Eckard was sent in 2002 as part of the team to address the issues cited by the FDA GSK strongly disagrees with 60 Minutes' implication that patients suffered harm as a result of the Cidra issues The FDA; the US Department of Justice; and Neil Getnick all stated there was no indication that patients were harmed as a result of the production issues at Cidra Attorney Carmen Ortiz herself stated: "We did not uncover any evidence that patients were harmed from these adulterated batches." GSK's manufacturing division has a strong track record of quality and compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) requirements Various regulatory agencies - including the FDA - conduct an average of more than 100 inspections each year at over 80 GSK manufacturing sites located in over 30 countries The FDA has raised no material issues as a result of its very thorough inspections GSK is committed to continuous improvement in our manufacturing processes Patients should have a high level of confidence about GSK's manufacturing and the quality of our medicines GSK worked to bring the Cidra facility to a high level of operating performance that satisfied both GSK and the FDA The plant was closed in 2009 due to a declining demand for the medicines made there The company strongly rejects any claim of retaliation for whistle-blowing employees are encouraged to report any concerns they might have to management or through a confidential compliance hotline and company policy prohibits any retaliation against employees Eckard was assigned to help lead a quality assurance team to evaluate one of Glaxo's most important plants But Eckard says that when she saw what was happening to some of the company's most popular drugs It was the worst thing I had run across in my career," she told "60 Minutes" correspondent Scott Pelley because so many things behind the walls of the plant were going wrong at once: Eckard says water used to make tablets was tainted with bacteria; failures on production lines made some drugs too strong some not strong enough; and the employees were contaminating products including the anti-bacterial ointment Bactroban which was made in a sealed tank to prevent contamination "They were opening up the lid and then they were sticking their body into the tank and scraping it with like a paddle," Eckard said "But this product is supposed to be free of bacteria As her team continued its evaluation of the plant Eckard says she discovered something much worse than contamination: because of failures on various production lines she says that powerful medications were getting mixed up "Are you saying that different kinds of drugs were packed into the same bottle?" Pelley asked Eckard says a chart that she produced for company executives shows the kinds of mix-ups that were happening at Cidra including Avandia diabetes pills mixed in packages with over-the-counter Tagamet antacids and Paxil antidepressants "I contacted the vice president of quality for North America and I told him that he needed to shut down the factory and call the FDA," Eckard said "I urged him to stop the trucks that were leaving the dock that day." "I went back to work and waited for the news that they had called the FDA or that they had stopped shipments a pharmacist called the company with a story about a mix-up involving the powerful antidepressant Paxil in its ten milligram dose "A grandmother came in to pick up this little boy's prescription the boy was getting two and a half times his prescribed dose Eckard says that she assigned one of her investigators to the case and found that both Paxil doses were made on one production line which led her to a theory of how the mix-up could have happened "Maybe there was still Paxil in the hopper the filling hopper when they switched out the bottles and changed out the labels So in that batch some of the first bottles that went though were labeled ten milligram when they were actually 25," she said Eckard says she took her findings to the same vice president that she had asked to shut down the plant five months before "I took it and I handed it to him and I said to him And he put his head down and put his hands over his face and he said Asked if the company then shut down the plant they filed a report with the FDA that said that the mix-up was not real The Glaxo report to the FDA Eckard is talking about said it was "extremely unlikely" the Paxil mix-up occurred at Cidra We don't know what happened to the boy because drug incident reports don't contain names but the Glaxo note to the FDA said "there were no adverse reactions." The vice president that Eckard says she spoke to is no longer with Glaxo and he declined to talk with "60 Minutes." Glaxo denies Eckard's allegations And it denies that it ever lied to the FDA the company was eager to tell us that it has learned from Cidra Ian McCubbin is a senior vice president from Glaxo headquarters in London We spend $600 million every year on make sure that our plant and equipment is state of the art," McCubbin said "Would you say that the company was chastened by all of this?" Pelley asked I'd say the company was very disappointed that this occurred and that we regret that this occurred McCubbin told Pelley the company has about 80 plants around the world When asked if any of them operate the way Cidra did to the same quality system that we had in place The difference between Cidra and all the rest of the plants is the effectiveness with which that quality system was implemented it was much weaker and that resulted in the compliance issues that occurred," McCubbin said "Cheryl Eckard says that she was issuing warnings and no one was listening," Pelley remarked And I don't all the details of her accusations What I do know is that we were working with the FDA before Cheryl went to that plant," McCubbin said It was an FDA inspection that first revealed problems at Cidra And that's why Glaxo sent Eckard's team in to resolve those FDA concerns But Eckard says she found much more than the FDA had FDA inspections of drug plants are only occasional so it's up to drug companies to police themselves "Probably most drugs are safe that people are taking but there are scary examples like this that certainly raise questions," Dr Jerry Avorn of Harvard Medical School told Pelley Avorn is one of the nation's leading authorities on pharmaceuticals He says that Eckard's story is an extraordinary look at what can happen when there aren't enough investigators to follow-up on the federal inspections "The fact that there were so many different kinds of problems and that there were even other issues about diabetes drugs and antidepressants on the same line getting allegedly mixed together This was not apparently one isolated incident It just looks like nobody was minding the store at this plant," Avorn said 'Well the drug manufacturing process is very complicated very hard to do there are bound to be mistakes'?" Pelley asked "Just because something is complicated doesn't mean it's okay to get it wrong We don't accept that of our brain surgeons or of our airlines The reason we pay so much for drugs - more than any other country - is that we expect that in exchange for those high prices the companies are gonna actually manage their manufacturing processes carefully," Avorn said Cheryl Eckard says her first warning to shut down the plant at Cidra came in August 2002 but nothing seemed to be changing on the factory floor and the frustration was taking its toll "The director of manufacturing at the factory maybe he was the VP of manufacturing at the factory You come here every day and your eyes are swollen because you've been crying So I want to ask you to stop that.' And I said to him And what I don't understand is why I'm the only one Why aren't you crying?'" Eckard remembered After eight months of reporting problems at Cidra Eckard sent a summary to seven executives detailing nine high-risk areas at the plant the water contamination and the problems with sterility She warned that if the FDA knew what the company knew Eckard took the same information she had sent to her Glaxo bosses and turned it over to the FDA federal agents executed a search warrant at the plant and ultimately seized defective drugs worth hundreds of millions of dollars "This case goes right to the heart of patient safety," attorney Neil Getnick told Pelley Getnick and Lesley Ann Skillen are Eckard's lawyers they filed suit on behalf of the federal government claiming that Glaxo had defrauded the taxpayers "Pharmaceutical drugs are paid for by our Medicare program for the elderly by our Medicaid program for the impoverished And here we have a situation where hundreds of millions of dollars were paid for adulterated drugs through our Medicaid programs." It admitted it distributed "adulterated drugs Paxil CR the company paid $750 million to settle the criminal conviction and Eckard's suit "Can anything like this happen at Glaxo again?" Pelley asked Glaxo's Ian McCubbin We will work really hard to resolve these issues and make sure that our quality management system is in place and robust," he replied Glaxo says no drugs made there are on the market today and it says there is no evidence that anyone was hurt by the defective medications Eckard was rewarded with a percentage of the millions that the government recovered in the fraud suit "You know that there are people watching this interview who are saying she did it for the money,'" Pelley pointed out "That I hope and I pray that their mothers and their brothers and their children have safer medicine today than they had before I filed that lawsuit," Eckard replied .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Christine Vendel | cvendel@pennlive.comHARRISBURG - When Victor Jose Oyola and his wife wanted to open a Spanish restaurant in Harrisburg their friends and business associates suggested locations in the surrounding townships They tried to steer him to shopping plazas off Union Deposit Road or Linglestown Road at the corner of 18th and Derry streets in the city where he found an affordable space to rent in the first floor of a warehouse A grocery store had opened next door about a year ago in the same building known as the Big Ugly Warehouse saying it was a "bad neighborhood." But Oyola "I've never seen it that way," Oyola said He opened his first restaurant, Cidra's Cabana, on Nov. 7. Three weeks later, a man was fatally shot on the third floor of the warehouse above the grocery store and his restaurant The arrest Wednesday came on the same day Braxton, 25, was buried. Braxton was preparing for an event inside rented space of a warehouse near 18th and Derry streets when he was fatally shot Nov. 27. but it was exactly in our building," Oyola said "It doesn't get much closer than that." although they didn't recognize the loud noises as gunfire at the time talking about how they could improve their business The killing shattered Oyola's confidence He questioned his decision to bring his family business to that corner "My whole mentality was to prove them wrong," he said "I was working so people wouldn't think it was the bad place they had envisioned I felt like they had proved me wrong." Oyola found out later he had previously met the homicide victim Braxton had eaten in the restaurant and they talked about how they could work together to improve the area Although the killing initially caused Oyola to question his decision he realized upon more reflection that his investment in the area was more important than ever we like to reach out and help clean up the community a little bit whether it be with litter Oyola and his wife have rented a bounce house for children and placed it in the parking lot for special promotions and he wants to do more community events to bring people together "We have a lot of kids that are in need of help," he said "And since I have kids in the community I definitely want to be a big part of it." Area residents appreciate what Oyola and his wife Isaura Mena have done with the restaurant they sell alcohol and you get the people hanging out in front Oyola designed the restaurant to feel like an island oasis The location he rented was originally a flea market but was redesigned into restaurant space with large floor-to ceiling glass windows He boarded up half of the windows to look like a cabana and put murals with ocean images over the other half where it makes you feel like you're back in the islands," Oyola said "We didn't want people looking out into a parking lot with a bunch of cars." The restaurant features food from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republican prepared by chefs from those countries rice and plantains with stews and gravies for a lunch price of $5.99 Oyola said his goal was to serve great food at great prices to get repeat customers The recent homicide hasn't slowed business much although he hasn't seen some of his customers who drive in from the townships as much lately He hopes they will venture back into the city Oyola said he's networking with police and other business owners to see what they can accomplish together "We plan to interact with the community more to help ensure this doesn't happen again," he said "Businesses need to interact more together "Our storm just came a little bit early," he said Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices \n m_gallery = \"cidras_spanish_restaurant_open\";\n m_gallery_id = \"19346498\";\n m_gallery_title = \"Cidra\\'s Spanish restaurant opens in Allison Hill\";\n m_gallery_blog_id = \"4503\";\n m_gallery_creation_date = \"Monday 8:23 PM\";\n m_gallery_permalink = \"http://photos.pennlive.com/4503/gallery/cidras_spanish_restaurant_open/index.html\";\n m_gallery_json = \"https://blog.pennlive.com/photogallery/4503/19346498.json\";\n m_gallery_pagetype = \"embed\";\n m_gallery_type = \"photo\";\n <\/script>\n Gallery: Cidra's Spanish restaurant opens in Allison Hill Dr Kabano Ignace Team Leader and Strategic Advisor (CIDRA) Workers who served a dual consulting firm ICOS-CIDRA Joint Ventures have expressed concern over a long overdue payment for their consultancy services on Stunting Prevention and Reduction (Spar) The workers who claim to be over 100 are asking payment of Rwf 150 million arrears the Centre for Integrated Development Research and Action (CIDRA) a local research and statistical data consulting firm merged with ICOS Consulting PLC another management consulting firm headquartered in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The main intention was to successfully bid for the tender on Stunting Prevention and Reduction (SPAR) Project under its first programme pillar The pillar aimed to improve delivery of high-impact nutrition and health interventions and support early childhood development through a community-based approach and intensive behavioral change communication to raise awareness of the early signs They won the tender which was commissioned by Rwanda Biomedical center (RBC) According to a copy of consultancy that was seen by our sister website kigalitoday.com about the agreement signed between ICOS-CIDRA Joint Ventures and consultancy the research was supposed to cover 45 days Consultants hired by ICOS-CIDRA Joint Ventures said they have always been told that RBC had not affected payment only to discover it was done almost a month ago ICOS-CIDRA Joint Ventures said the payment was made only some ten days ago now Dr Kabano Ignace the Team Leader and Strategic Advisor at CIDRA speaking to our sister website denied having entered any agreement with any consultant He said they were contracted by ICOS Consulting PLC He also said that claims from the same consultants is “baseless” Kabano later on confirmed that their consultants had received the first installment of fifty million Rwandan francs (Rwf 50,000,000) and that they owe the consultants over one hundred fifty million Rwandan francs (Rwf 150,000,000) the payment “was delayed by the fact that some of the consultants have not yet submitted their bank account details.” “What these consultants are saying is not true; we have not refused to pay them It is because RBC delayed to effect payment we asked them (consultants) to present bank details some provided them and others did not,” said Kabano about 12 groups presented their bank accounts and handed over company materials they used during research The remaining eight have not fulfilled what is required hence “can’t be paid in a disorderly manner” Asked when those who presented what is required shall be paid Consultants under ICOS-CIDRA Joint ventures claim that what has delayed payment is that management wants to invest the money into other consultancies they were awarded