© Shawn Poynter/MSNBC.comJoe and Jan Postich stand on the front porch of their home in Madisonville, Tenn. The pair have filed a $30 million lawsuit against Triad Group Inc. and Genentech Inc., claiming the firms manufactured and distributed contaminated alcohol prep pads that sickened Joe Postich. The 55-year-old ironwoker had to have open-heart surgery after contracting an infection from the same rare bacteria that led to the recall of millions of Triad alcohol prep products.
Since msnbc.com reported Feb. 15 about the death of Harrison Kothari , who was infected with the same type of rare bacteria that sparked the recall of tens of millions of pads and swabs, dozens of people have stepped forward to say they may have been sickened, too.
At the same time, government documents obtained by msnbc.com showed that federal Food and Drug Administration inspectors knew about problems with contamination and sterilization at a plant run by the Triad Group of Hartland, Wis., as early as July 2009.
"Procedures designed to prevent microbiological contamination of drug products purporting to be sterile are not followed," officials wrote in inspection reports. But there's no record that the FDA sent warning letters typically used to force firms to comply.
Perdue said he is hearing from at least 15 people a day who are reporting infections tied to Triad alcohol prep products. Other cases are likely to go unreported because doctors are unlikely to test for the type of bacteria behind many infections.
"Unless it's cultured, they never know it's this Bacillus cereus," he said.
