July 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug

Administration issued an alert on Wednesday to laboratories and

healthcare providers of a shortage of Becton Dickinson ( BDX )'

blood test tubes used in diagnosing bacterial and fungal

infections.

The regulator urged providers to prioritize patients at the

highest risk such as those displaying signs of bloodstream

infections, which can often be deadly.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

The disruption in supply of this device is expected to

impact patient diagnosis, follow-up treatment, and antimicrobial

management efforts, according to the FDA.

Becton's BACTEC blood culture media help detect bacterial

and fungal infections in the bloodstream. Early detection of an

infection help prevent worsening of a condition called sepsis,

which occurs when the immune system has a dangerous reaction to

an infection.

CONTEXT

Last month, Becton issued a letter warning of potential

delays in its BACTEC blood culture media supply over the coming

months due to reduced availability of plastic bottles from a

supplier.

The company said it will provide an update on supply by

September.

KEY QUOTES

"While this supplier issue is not expected to have a

material financial impact on BD, we are fully focused on

returning the supply of blood culture vials to normal levels,"

Nikos Pavlidis, president of BD Diagnostic Solutions, said in a

statement.

Becton said it is taking measures to address the issue,

including the use of air shipments and modifying manufacturing

schedules for rapid production.

BY THE NUMBERS

At ​least 1.7 million adults in the U.S. develop sepsis each

year, and nearly 270,000 die as a result of it, according to the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.