FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Relatives of four people who died at a North Dakota hospital in 1999 have filed lawsuits claiming the deaths were caused by contaminated mouthwash.
The lawsuits, filed in U.S. District Court in Fargo, say the DawnMist Mouth Rinse used at Fargo's MeritCare Hospital was contaminated with Burkholderia cepacia. It is described in the lawsuits as a "virulent and rapidly spreading bacteria that is resistant to almost all antibiotics."
The deaths occurred in January 1999 and February 1999. The mouthwash was recalled in the spring of 1999 by its distributor, Donovan Industries of Tampa, Fla., according to the Food and Drug Administration.