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ByLindseyTanner APMedicalWriter CHICAGO An anti-addic- tion drug used to fight the nation's heroin and pain- killer abuse epidemics poses a threat to young chil- dren who accidentally swal- low relatives' prescriptions, a federal study says. Some children have died. The study found that the drug, buprenorphine, was the adult prescription med- ication most commonly im- plicated in emergency hos- pitalizations of children aged 6 and younger. For every 100,000 pa- tients prescribed buprenor- phine, 200 young children were hospitalized for tak- ing it, the study found. That rate is more than four times higher than the statistic for next most commonly impli- cated drug, a blood pres- sure medicine. Almost 800 youngsters a year were hospitalized after swallowing buprenorphine, the study found. The research, published Monday in the journal Pe- diatrics, covered data from 2007 to 2011. It did not in- clude deaths, but other medical journal reports have cited deaths from such incidents. Dr. Daniel Budnitz, the study's senior author and director of medication safety at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention, said drug-packag- ing changes since the study ended may help reduce the risks, although more recent national data are not avail- able. "Our hope is that we see a decline," he said. The results underscore why it's important to keep medicines hidden and out of children's reach, Bud- nitz said. Buprenorphine (boo- pruh-NOR'-feen) is an opi- oid up to 50 times more potent as a painkiller than morphine. In addicts, it can help reduce drug cravings and withdrawal symptoms without producing a nar- cotic "high." In children it can cause vomiting, sedation and dangerously slowed breath- ing. The most common form of the medication is a com- pound combining bu- prenorphine with naloxone, a drug used as an antidote to overdoses of heroin and other opioid drugs. It's sold as a generic and under the brand name Sub- oxone. It is available in tablets and in individually pack- aged film strips that dis- solve under the tongue. Most hospitalizations in- volved tablets, Budnitz said. He said risks for po- tentially life-threatening breathing problems in young children may partly explain the high hospi- talization rate. Bottles of tablets, though child- resistant, may be riski- est because children who manage to get them open can swallow more than one pill, he said. Federal regulators re- cently approved two compa- nies' requests to sell generic versions of Suboxone as in- dividually wrapped tablets rather than simply putting them in a bottle. The change may prove less risky for children, Bud- nitz said. Citing concerns about risks to children, manu- facturer Reckitt Benck- iser Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced in 2012 that it would stop marketing Sub- oxone tablets in the United States. Generic tablets are still available. THREAT TO CHILDREN Kids' poisonings linked to anti-addiction medicine ASSOCIATEDPRESS In this March 11, 2013file photo, Shavonne Bullock, a recovering heroin addict, holds a demonstration dose of the medication Suboxone during an appointment at the West Division Family Health Center in Chicago. Each dose is incorporated on a dissolvable film, which is placed below the tongue where is dissolves and is absorbed into the bloodstream. Suboxone helps suppress withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings for people recovering from addiction to opioid drugs. Associated Press TRACY A California pro- duce company is issuing a recall of some lots of toma- toes and salad kits that in- clude them because they may be contaminated with salmonella. Taylor Farms of Tracy issued the voluntary re- call Saturday night for Expo Fresh Roma toma- toes shipped to Costco lo- cations in Los Angeles and Hawthorne in California, Tacoma and Lynwood in Washington, and Las Vegas in Nevada. Only tomatoes listed as packed on Sept. 5 or Sept. 6 are affected. The recall also includes Sicilian Vegetable Salad served at deli counters at Safeway, Vons and Pavil- ions grocery stores in Cali- fornia, Nevada and Arizona with use-by dates of Sept. 20 and Sept. 21. The kits for the salad contained the to- matoes. wThe company says the salmonella was found in routine testing. No illnesses have been reported. FOOD Ca li fo rn ia c om pa ny i ss ue s pa rt ia l to ma to r ec al l PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER. Thankyou! By Lauran Neergaard AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON The Amer- ican strategy on Ebola is two-pronged: Step up des- perately needed aid to West Africa and, in an unusual step, train U.S. doctors and nurses for volunteer duty in the outbreak zone. At home, the goal is to speed up med- ical research and put hospi- tals on alert should an in- fected traveler arrive. With growing criticism that the world still is not acting fast enough against the surging Ebola epidemic, President Barack Obama has called the outbreak a national security priority. Obama is to travel to At- lanta on Tuesday to address the Ebola crisis during a visit to the Centers for Dis- ease Control and Preven- tion, the White House said. During his visit, Obama is to be briefed about the out- break and discuss the U.S. response with officials. The administration hasn't said how big a role the military ultimately will play — and it's not clear how quickly additional promised help will arrive in West Africa. "This is also not every- thing we can and should be doing," Sen. Chris Coons, D- Del., who chairs a Foreign Relations subcommittee that oversees African is- sues, told the Senate last week. He called for expanded military efforts and for Obama to appoint some- one to coordinate the en- tire government's Ebola re- sponse. "I've heard from organi- zations that have worked to transport donated supplies and can fill cargo plane af- ter cargo plane but are hav- ing difficulty getting it all to West Africa," Coons added, urging government assis- tance. Supplies aren't the great- est need: "Trained health professionals for these Eb- ola treatment units is a critical shortage," said Dr. Steve Monroe of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention, or CDC. Aiming to spur them, the CDC is beginning to train volunteer health work- ers headed for West Africa on how to stay safe, Mon- roe said. CDC sent its own staff to learn from Doctors Without Borders, which has the most experience in Eb- ola outbreaks. CDC will of- fer the course at a facility in Anniston, Alabama, for the next few months, teaching infection-control and self- protection and letting vol- unteers — expected to be mostly from nongovern- ment aid groups — prac- tice patient triage. "It's gone beyond an Eb- ola crisis to a humanitarian crisis. It does require more of a U.S. government-wide response, more than just CDC," Monroe said. Here are some questions and answers about that re- sponse: Q What is the U.S. con- tributing? A The U.S. government has spent more than $100 million so far, said Ned Price of the National Security Council. Last week, the U.S. Agency for International Development announced it would spend up to $75 million more to provide 1,000 treatment beds in Liberia, the worst- hit country, and 130,000 protective suits for health workers. The Obama administra- tion has asked Congress for another $88 million to send additional supplies and public health experts, and to develop potential Ebola medications and vaccines. Also, the State Depart- ment has signed a six- month contract, estimated at up to $4.9 million, for a Georgia-based air ambu- lance to be on call to evacu- ate any Ebola-infected gov- ernment employees, and other U.S. aid workers when possible. "The ability to evacuate patients infected with the Ebola virus is a critical ca- pability," said Dr. William Walters, the State Depart- ment's director of opera- tional medicine. Q Beyond delivering supplies, what's hap- pening on the ground? A The CDC currently has 103 staffers in West Africa working on outbreak control and plans to send about 50 more. They help to track con- tacts of Ebola patients, train local health work- ers in infection control and help airport author- ities screen whether any- one at high risk of Ebola is attempting to leave. Two of the CDC work- ers are in Ivory Coast to try to stay ahead of the virus, helping health au- thorities prepare in case an Ebola patient crosses the border into that coun- try. Q What are the U.S. military's plans? A The Defense Depart- ment has provided more than 10,000 Ebola test kits to the region and plans to set up a 25-bed field hospital in the Libe- rian capital for infected health care workers. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby suggested Fri- day that more could be coming. "The Department of De- fense has capabilities that might prove helpful," he said, adding, "We're hav- ing those discussions right now." Q Will Ebola come here? A U.S. health officials are preparing in case an individual traveler ar- rives unknowingly in- fected but say they're con- fident there won't be an outbreak here. People boarding planes in the outbreak zone are checked for fever, but symp- toms can begin up to 21 days after exposure. Ebola isn't contagious until symp- toms begin, and it takes close contact with bodily fluids to spread. EPIDEMIC United States works to step up Ebola aid, but is it enough? www.redbluff.mercy.org redbluff.mercy.org HealthierLivingw/ChronicConditions 5:30pm-8:00pm • 9/16 9/23 9/30 • Tuesday • Coyne Center, Columba 888-628-1948 • redbluff.mercy.org/classes_and_events Auxiliary Leather Sale 9am-4pm • 9/16-9/17 • Wed. Thur. 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