HEALTH

FDA Orders Closing of Two Medical Device Plants: A major manufacturer of ventilators and other devices was ordered by the government to close two of its plants until recurring violations are corrected. The Food and Drug Administration said it had found violations at Puritan-Bennett Corp. facilities nationwide that date to 1985, but it ordered the company to close plants only in Carlsbad, Calif., and Boulder, Colo., because violations there were the most serious. Those plants make portable ventilators and a device called a blood gas monitor that ensures that critically ill patients get enough oxygen. But the products were often faulty because the plants did not conform to federal regulations, the FDA alleged.