Faulty glucose monitors linked to 7 deaths and more than 700 injuries, FDA warns

Advertisement

Advertise with us

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning people to stop using certain types of glucose monitor sensors after the company that makes them, Abbott Diabetes Care, said the devices were linked to seven deaths and more than 700 injuries.

Read this article for free:


By clicking the button above, an account will be created and you will begin to receive some of our recommended newsletters. You may opt out of any newsletter by visiting your Email and Communication Preferences page or by clicking "unsubscribe" at the bottom of any email.

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $1.44 a week*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $5.77 plus GST every four weeks. After 52 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.95 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/12/2025 (320 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning people to stop using certain types of glucose monitor sensors after the company that makes them, Abbott Diabetes Care, said the devices were linked to seven deaths and more than 700 injuries.

Certain FreeStyle Libre 3 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensors may provide incorrect low glucose readings, FDA officials said this week. Such readings over an extended period may lead people with diabetes to make bad treatment decisions, such as consuming too many carbohydrates or skipping or delaying doses of insulin.

“These decisions may pose serious health risks, including potential injury or death,” the FDA said in the alert.

FILE - The Food and Drug Administration seal is seen at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
FILE - The Food and Drug Administration seal is seen at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

The sensors are devices that measure glucose levels in fluid just beneath the skin to provide real-time measurements of sugar in the blood. Information from the sensor is sent wirelessly to a device or phone.

The warning affects about three million sensors in the U.S. from a single production line, Abbott officials said in a statement. About half those devices have expired or been used, the company added. As of Nov. 14, the company reported seven deaths worldwide and 736 serious adverse events. No deaths occurred in the U.S., where 57 injuries were reported.

Abbott has notified all customers of the problem. The company said it has identified and resolved the issue in the affected production lot.

The FDA said people should stop using affected sensors and discard them.

The problem involved FreeStyle Libre 3 sensors with model numbers 72080-01 with unique device identifiers 00357599818005 and 00357599819002. It also involved FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensors with model numbers 78768-01 and 78769-01 and unique device identifiers 00357599844011 and 00357599843014.

People can visit www.FreeStyleCheck.com to check if their sensors are potentially affected and request a replacement, the company said. No other FreeStyle Libre products are affected.

——

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Puzzles Palace

1 minute read Friday, Oct. 16, 2026

To solve our puzzles, please subscribe with this special offer: |

Officials say catastrophic base fire was known ahead of time, allowed to burn

Jack Farrell and Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Preview

Officials say catastrophic base fire was known ahead of time, allowed to burn

Jack Farrell and Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 9:33 PM CDT

Canada's military says a grass fire that killed four soldiers and sent scores more to hospital with bad burns was known well beforehand but not considered a threat.

Maj.-Gen. Wade Rutland, commander of 1st Canadian Division, says the grass fire was a kilometre away and considered sufficiently under control that training exercises were allowed to continue Saturday afternoon at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in central Alberta.

However, he said conditions — including a violent, sudden windstorm — sent those flames racing over the Prairie landscape at lightning speed, landing right on top of the soldiers.

"This was a very uncommon occurrence," Rutland told a news conference Sunday.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 9:33 PM CDT

Waters remain murky in unchartered Hellebuyck trade request territory

Ken Wiebe 4 minute read Preview

Waters remain murky in unchartered Hellebuyck trade request territory

Ken Wiebe 4 minute read 6:18 PM CDT

ST. LOUIS — The thing about being in unchartered waters is that the answer to the next question isn’t always readily apparent either above or below the surface.

Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel has been doing his best to ensure the upcoming two-game road trip against Central Division opponents doesn’t include a three-ring circus. But with news coming over the weekend that the suspension for goalie Connor Hellebuyck is set to expire on Friday, the club has to prepare for the next step in that process.

The problem, as Arniel conceded during his session on Monday afternoon before the team departed for Missouri, is that some of the hypotheticals need to be eliminated from the equation before the proper response can be determined.

“When it comes to Helly’s scenario, honestly I don’t really have a lot of information,” said Arniel. “I know everybody knows (about) Friday. That’s all we know.”

Read
6:18 PM CDT

New twist in Hellebuyck saga, suspension ends Friday

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read Preview

New twist in Hellebuyck saga, suspension ends Friday

Ken Wiebe 7 minute read Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

Connor Hellebuyck has played the reverse Uno card. What we don’t know is if he has any intention of coming back to friendly Manitoba or if this is simply the latest attempt to put the Winnipeg Jets' feet to the flames in an effort to move him to an American market.

Read
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

Katz ‘violated public trust,’ Sheegl lacked ‘moral compass,’ police HQ inquiry commissioner concludes

Joyanne Pursaga 8 minute read Preview

Katz ‘violated public trust,’ Sheegl lacked ‘moral compass,’ police HQ inquiry commissioner concludes

Joyanne Pursaga 8 minute read Updated: 7:29 PM CDT

The final report from the public inquiry into the scandal-plagued Winnipeg Police Service headquarters construction project concludes that former mayor Sam Katz and former city CAO Phil Sheegl broke public trust and engaged in unethical conduct.

And the report, released Monday by inquiry commissioner Garth Smorang, says the cost of the project — transforming a downtown Canada Post office tower and warehouse into the police HQ — soared, in part, because main contractor Caspian Projects overcharged the city by more than $40 million in expenses.

The project’s initial $135-million initial price tag rose to about $209 million in the end. The city purchased the complex in 2009; construction was completed in 2016.

Smorang’s report concludes Katz “violated the public trust” and council code of conduct, and Sheegl suffered from a “complete lack of a moral compass.”

Read
Updated: 7:29 PM CDT

Team president locked out, day after speaking out on arena’s closure

Morgan Modjeski 5 minute read Preview

Team president locked out, day after speaking out on arena’s closure

Morgan Modjeski 5 minute read Friday, Oct. 16, 2026

A longtime team official in Manitoba’s hockey community says he’s being punished by the City of Winnipeg for speaking out about the poor condition of one of its rinks.

Barry Bonni, president of the River East Royal Knights, has occupied an office at Terry Sawchuk Memorial Arena for more than four decades.

On Friday, he was locked out.

“They’re on the war path,” Bonni said.

Read
Friday, Oct. 16, 2026