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News – Thursday, May 18, 2017
FDA and CDC Warning About Inaccurate Lead Test Results
SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is alerting Illinoisans that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are warning the public that a certain type of lead test made by Magellan Diagnostics may provide inaccurate results for some children and adults. The FDA’s warning is based on currently available data that indicate Magellan lead tests that use blood taken from a person’s vein may provide results that are lower than the actual level of lead in the blood.
CDC recommends that parents of children younger than six years (72 months) of age, and currently pregnant women and nursing mothers who have been tested for lead exposure consult their health care professional about whether they should be retested. However, the IDPH lead program is not aware of Magellan Diagnostics’ test results in Illinois where blood was drawn from a person’s vein. Out of an abundance of caution, IDPH is alerting health care professionals about the potential for inaccurate lead test results.
More information about the warning can be found at https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm558769.htm.
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