Word: rico
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...puzzle in Puerto Rico...
...bewildering to the affected children: breast development in girls six months to seven years old, and sometimes in young boys. Ordinarily, premature thelarche, as doctors call the condition, is a rare disorder, occurring in less than one out of 1,000 children. But in recent years doctors in Puerto Rico have reported more than 700 cases, mostly in children under two. Some slightly older patients display a fuller range of adult sexual traits, including menstruation at age seven. "When you see four cases a day of an uncommon condition, then you know something is very wrong," declares Pediatric Endocrinologist Carmen...
...attempts to assess the merit of the doctors' charges have been inconclusive. An FDA investigation in August found that two out of 17 poultry samples from Puerto Rico were "suspect for estrogenic activity." Despite this, says FDA District Director Lynn Campbell, the analysis "has uncovered no evidence of the unlawful use or abuse of estrogen or hormone-like compounds...
...supporters insist that the Government is not looking hard enough. A private investigator hired by the physicians in Puerto Rico reported that he found it easy to buy restricted veterinary drugs containing estrogen, including DES. "They say it's not for sale here," says Sáenz, "but there was plenty where he bought it." Indeed, Veterinarian Jose Diez of the commonwealth department of agriculture confirms that "all the large pharmaceutical companies and distributors peddle their wares to the breeders, not only estrogen but also antibiotics." What is worse, says Diez, "our breeders have no idea...
...catch to date suggests what is at stake. Indictments for food-stamp fraud last year totaled 799, nearly double the number in 1980; the tally this year, involving 40 states, Guam and Puerto Rico, has already topped 800. In the largest theft uncovered so far, four employees of the Government Development Bank in Puerto Rico stole $100,000 worth of stamps a day for four years, for a total take of $100 million. They were finally caught last May by Agriculture Department agents...