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Arrest warrant issued for Jean-Claude Mas
Interpol has said it is seeking arrest of Frenchman Jean-Claude Mas, founder of the breast implant company at the centre of a widespread women's health scare.
Mr Mas, 72, whose picture appears on the Interpol website, is listed as being sought in Costa Rica for offences concerning "life and health."
The news comes after France's health ministry advised women with breast implants made by Mr Mas' firm PIP to have them removed.
They said that while there is no proven cancer risk with the implants they could rupture dangerously.
The government stressed there was no urgency but the advice is likely add to the concern of tens of thousands of other women around the world who have the implants made from industrial rather than medical quality silicone.
Women with PIP implants "do not have a higher risk of cancer than women who have implants manufactured by other firms", the health ministry said but added there were "well-established risks of ruptures".
Health Minister Xavier Bertrand called for their removal as a "precautionary measure", while stressing that this was not urgent. The eight cancer cases involved mainly breast cancer.
Medical insurance will pay for the implants' removal, but only women who had the implants as part of reconstructive surgery after breast cancer, rather than for purely aesthetic reasons, will have new implants paid for.
The French government advised women with PIP implants to contact their doctor and "a precautionary removal will be offered, even without clinical signs of deterioration of the implant".
Any woman who declines the removal must have a breast scan every six months, the health ministry added.
IMB seeks to reassure women
Around 1,500 Irish women are believed to have the implants.
The Irish Medicines Board said that anyone with concerns should contact their implanting surgeon.
It said it will "continue to monitor this issue" and there is no "current evidence of health risks associated with PIP implants".
Britain has said it is not following the French recommendation.
"Women with PIP implants should not be unduly worried. We have no evidence of a link to cancer or an increased risk of rupture," Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies said.
"While we respect the French government's decision, no other country is taking similar steps because we currently have no evidence to support it."
The now-bankrupt Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) was shut down and its products banned last year after it was revealed to have been using non-authorised silicone gel that caused abnormally high rupture rates in its implants.
Facing financial difficulties, the company, once the world's third-largest producer of silicone implants, replaced the medical-grade silicone in its implants with industrial-strength material.
Documents obtained by AFP news agency on Wednesday showed that tens of thousands of women in more than 65 countries, mainly in South America and western Europe, received implants produced by PIP, which ceased trading last year.
