Patients in Germany sickened by heparin

Illnesses reportedly caused by different brand than one linked to 19 deaths

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updated 5:21 p.m. ET March 6, 2008

WASHINGTON - Dialysis patients in Germany have gotten sick using a different brand of the blood thinner heparin than was linked to 19 American deaths, sparking U.S. concern that the problem could run deeper than originally believed.

As a result of the German illnesses, the Food and Drug Administration is urging all U.S. suppliers of heparin to start using some special high-tech tests to make sure their products are free of a contaminant that is the prime suspect for hundreds of allergic-type reactions linked to Baxter International's U.S.-sold heparin injections.

Baxter gets its main heparin ingredient from China.

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On Thursday, Germany recalled heparin made by a German company that uses a different supplier than Baxter.

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