Pakistan cough syrup killed 13 patients

Tragedy in Pakistan: cough syrup kills 13 patients

31.12.2012

A cough syrup has once again caused a tragedy in Pakistan: since Wednesday last week, at least 38 men have been admitted to the state hospital in the East Pakistani city of Gujranwala after taking such juice, with more than a dozen patients having consequences for the clinic's vice president already died.

Background of the accident still unclear
There is no clarity about the cause. The manufacturer of the drug - Reko Pharmacal in Lahore - has the responsibility to say that it has never had any complications with the "Tyno SF 120ml syrup", which has been on the market for 40 years. Instead, the pharmaceutical experts have their own explanation for the disaster: Under certain circumstances, cough syrup may have been used in too high a dosage as an intoxicant, as a large proportion of the patients had been medically dependent on the drug.

Already the third drug scandal 2012 in Pakistan
The case is not the first one in Pakistan: At the end of November, at least 16 patients in the second-largest city of Pakistan Lahore had died after taking another cough syrup. Even then, according to the local police chief of Lahore, the largest proportion of victims had been addicted to drugs - suggesting that the juice had been used too high a dosage as an intoxicant. As a result, three pharmacies and the manufacturing company had been closed by the Pakistani authorities.

An even more serious case had already happened at the beginning of the year: at that time, around 100 cardiac patients had died after taking locally manufactured, defective medications, and nearly 300 people had to receive medical treatment altogether. After the cases became known, the drug was immediately taken out of the market by a government official, and the owners of the three responsible pharmaceutical companies had been arrested. In the current case, the authorities will advise on Friday about possible consequences. (Sb)

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Image: Benjamin Klack