At least 87 people die in Argentina after being treated with medical-use fentanyl tainted with bacteria: Reports
According to Buenos Aires Herald, the investigation started in May, when the first nine people were confirmed to have died of an infection caused by fentanyl produced by pharmaceutical company HLB Pharma and its laboratory Laboratorio Ramallo.
Since then, La Plata Federal Judge Ernesto Kreplak, from the Buenos Aires province judiciary, has been leading an investigation to trace the full number of victims and those responsible.
Argentine food and drug regulator ANMAT, Buenos Aires Herald added, ordered all health centers in Argentina to stop using their fentanyl batch, and ordered the companies to halt all production. Last week, a media outlet reported that HLB Pharma had been authorized to purchase certificates to manufacture medicines.
However, ANMAT refuted the article in a communiqué and stressed that the laboratory 'cannot carry out any activity related to the manufacture, fractionation, import, export, distribution, or marketing of medical or pharmaceutical products.'
The Guardian reported that in an interview with La Nación, the owner of HLB Pharma, Ariel García Furfaro, denied that the deaths could be directly attributed to his product, said his company pulled it from the market itself, and claimed that if the ampoules were contaminated, someone had 'planted' the contaminant.
The patients had been hospitalised for unrelated conditions and were given the drug for pain relief or anaesthetic, before becoming infected with the multidrug-resistant bacteria.
No charges have yet been filed, but the court has named 24 people involved in the manufacture and sale of the opioid as suspects. They have been banned from leaving the country and had their assets frozen, The Guardian report said.
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2 days ago
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At least 96 dead after receiving contaminated medical fentanyl in Argentina
Argentina is facing one of its most serious pharmaceutical scandals in decades, with up to 96 people reported dead after receiving hospital treatment with medical fentanyl contaminated by dangerous bacteria, according to The official death toll remains at 87. However, the Buenos Aires Herald reported that nine additional deaths are being examined to determine whether they are linked to the tainted TRACED TO MEDICAL FENTANYLThe crisis first came to light in May when dozens of patients in hospitals developed severe bacterial infections shortly after being administered fentanyl for pain relief or anaesthesia. Medical tests revealed the presence of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Ralstonia pickettii -- strains that, in several cases, were resistant to multiple traced the contamination to batches of fentanyl produced by pharmaceutical company HLB Pharma and its laboratory partner, Laboratorio Ramallo as reported by The drug regulator, Anmat, confirmed the presence of bacterial contamination both in samples taken from deceased patients and in ampoules from two specific fentanyl batches. One of these had been "widely circulated," federal judge Ernesto Kreplak, who is leading the investigation, told local DENIES DIRECT RESPONSIBILITYAriel Garca Furfaro, owner of HLB Pharma, rejected claims that the deaths could be directly linked to his company's product. In an interview with La Nación, he said the firm had voluntarily pulled the fentanyl from the market and suggested the contamination may have been deliberate contaminated medication was reportedly distributed to hospitals in Buenos Aires province, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Formosa and Buenos Aires city. Authorities believe more than 300,000 ampoules may have been affected, with approximately 45,000 administered before the rest were recalled and who received the contaminated fentanyl had been hospitalised for unrelated medical conditions but rapidly deteriorated after infection with the multidrug-resistant the contaminated batches have been recalled, new cases linked to the fentanyl continue to criminal charges have yet been filed, but 24 individuals connected to the manufacture and distribution of the fentanyl have been named as suspects. The court has imposed travel bans on them and frozen their IS THE MEDICAL USE OF FENTANYL?Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid approved for pain management and anaesthesia, is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. In this case, the contamination -- rather than the drug's chemical properties -- is blamed for the deaths, making it one of the most smost serious drug contamination incidents in Argentina's history.- Ends
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- New Indian Express
At least 87 people die in Argentina after being treated with medical-use fentanyl tainted with bacteria: Reports
At least 87 people have died in Argentina after being treated with medical-use fentanyl that was tainted with bacteria, reports said. According to Buenos Aires Herald, the investigation started in May, when the first nine people were confirmed to have died of an infection caused by fentanyl produced by pharmaceutical company HLB Pharma and its laboratory Laboratorio Ramallo. Since then, La Plata Federal Judge Ernesto Kreplak, from the Buenos Aires province judiciary, has been leading an investigation to trace the full number of victims and those responsible. Argentine food and drug regulator ANMAT, Buenos Aires Herald added, ordered all health centers in Argentina to stop using their fentanyl batch, and ordered the companies to halt all production. Last week, a media outlet reported that HLB Pharma had been authorized to purchase certificates to manufacture medicines. However, ANMAT refuted the article in a communiqué and stressed that the laboratory 'cannot carry out any activity related to the manufacture, fractionation, import, export, distribution, or marketing of medical or pharmaceutical products.' The Guardian reported that in an interview with La Nación, the owner of HLB Pharma, Ariel García Furfaro, denied that the deaths could be directly attributed to his product, said his company pulled it from the market itself, and claimed that if the ampoules were contaminated, someone had 'planted' the contaminant. The patients had been hospitalised for unrelated conditions and were given the drug for pain relief or anaesthetic, before becoming infected with the multidrug-resistant bacteria. No charges have yet been filed, but the court has named 24 people involved in the manufacture and sale of the opioid as suspects. They have been banned from leaving the country and had their assets frozen, The Guardian report said.
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