Oldham Kelsey was given a Presidential award for distinguished service from the federal government for not allowing thalidomide to be approved for sale in the U.S.In Canada, the history of thalidomide dates back to April 1961. There were many different forms sold, with the most common variant being called Talimol. Two months after Talimol went on sale, pharmaceutical companies sent physicians letters warning about the risk of birth defects. It was not until March 1962, that both drugs were banned from the Canadian market by the FDD and, soon afterward, physicians were warned to destroy their supplies. Leprosy treatment
In 1964, Israeli physician Jacob Sheskin administered thalidomide to a patient critically ill with leprosy. The patient exhibited erythema nodosum leprosum (ENL), a painful skin condition, one of the complications of leprosy. The treatment was attempted despite the ban on thalidomides use, and results were favourable: the patient slept for hours and was able to get out of bed without aid upon awakening. A clinical trial studying the use of thalidomide in leprosy soon followed.Thalidomide has been used by Brazilian physicians as the drug of choice for the treatment of severe ENL since 1965, and by 1996, at least 33 cases of thalidomide embryopathy were recorded in people born in Brazil after 1965. Since 1994, the production, dispensing, and prescription of thalidomide have been strictly controlled, requiring women to use two forms of birth control and submit to regular pregnancy tests.
In fact, even in cases of omphalitis without evidence of more serious infection such as necrotizing fasciitis, mortality is high (in the 10% range). Causes
Omphalitis is most commonly caused by bacteria. The culprits usually are Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus, and Escherichia coli. The infection is typically caused by a combination of these organisms and is a mixed Gram-positive and Gram-negative infection. Anaerobic bacteria can also be involved. Diagnosis
In a normal umbilical stump, you first see the umbilicus lose its characteristic bluish-white, moist appearance and become dry and black  After several days to weeks, the stump should fall off and leave a pink fleshy wound which continues to heal as it becomes a normal umbilicus.For an infected umbilical stump, diagnosis is usually made by the clinical appearance of the umbilical cord stump and the findings on history and physical examination. There may be some confusion, however, if a well-appearing neonate simply has some redness around the umbilical stump. In fact, a mild degree is common, as is some bleeding at the stump site with detachment of the umbilical cord. The picture may be clouded even further if caustic agents have been used to clean the stump or if silver nitrate has been used to cauterize granulomata of the umbilical stump. Prevention
During the 1950s there were outbreaks of omphalitis that then led to anti-bacterial treatment of the umbilical cord stump as the new standard of care.