BEIJING, Aug.4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Ministry of
Health issued an urgent circular ordering the disuse of a problematic injection
medicine used to treat bacteria infections, which probably has caused at least
one death.
A six-year-old girl from Harbin, the capital of
northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, was reportedly killed from having been
mainlined with this problematic antibiotics known as clindamycin phosphate
glucose injection.
An increasing number of patients from provinces and
regions including Qinghai, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Heilongjiang and Shandong have
complained about symptoms ranging from chest distress, pain in the kidney of the
body, bellyache, diarrhea, nausea, vomit, to anaphylactic shock after having
been injected with the clindamycin phosphate glucose injections produced by the
Anhui company.
The dead, identified as Liu Sichen, had an
intravenous injection of the clindamycin phosphate at about 2 p.m. on July 27
for common cold, but she developed symptoms including high fever within 20
minutes, according to Sun Pengli, director of Pharmaceuticals Side Effects
Monitoring Center of Harbin City, on Friday.
The clindamycin phosphate glucose injection mainlined
into the girl patient was known to be produced by Anhui Huayuan Worldbest
Biology Pharmacy Co., a subsidiary of Shanghai Worldbest Co.Ltd., with a batch
number of 06062602.
The patient was soon transferred to the State Farm
General Hospital of Heilongjiang Province for further rescue operation. The girl
remained in a coma.
She was again transferred to the No.2 Hospital of the
Harbin Medical Sciences University, but was proclaimed dead at the night of July
27 despite all rescue efforts by medical workers.
"Based on all materials we have gathered, a preliminary judgment can be made that the girl was killed due to the injection of the clindamycin phosphate glucose produced by the Anhui Huayuan Worldbest Biology Pharmacy Co.," said Sun Pengli.
In the meantime, sources from Penglai City of Shandong Province, and Heilongjiang and Qinghai provinces said an upward of 21 people were sickened by the intravenous injection of the clindamycin phosphate glucose, nine of whom are still receiving ICU treatment at their respective local hospitals.
Food and drug authorities in Shandong, Qinghai provinces have banned sale and use of the problematic injections. And food and drug officials in Heilongjiaing collected samples of the problematic injections and had them tested with the provincial pharmaceuticals testing lab.
The Ministry of Health demanded that all batches of
clindamycin phosphate glucose injections produced in the past two moths by Anhui
Huayuan Worldbest Biology Pharmacy Co. be suspended from use immediately.
Fake of bad drugs have killed dozens of people in
China in recent years and raised questions about drug safety.
The country has recently fined Qiqihar No.2
Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and revoked its licence after its drug meant to treat
gastric disorders killed 11 people and turned out to be bogus.
Anhui Huayuan Worldbest Biology Pharmacy Co., has
been told by the Anhui Provincial Food and Drug Bureau to halt production at the
injection workshop and to cooperate with the special groups in the investigative
effort.
According to a spokesman for the provincial food and
drug bureau, several groups have stationed at the Anhui Huayuan Worldbest
Biology Pharmacy Co., doing investigations there.
"The production can not be resumed until a clear
outcome is out about the fuss," said the spokesman.
A recall of the problematic drug is also underway.
While ordering that an inventory be made into the
stockpile of the injections and all unused injections be sealed properly, the
ministry circular also asked medical and health organizations not to purchase
the injections made by the above-mentioned company.
In the meantime, the circular also told medical
organizations to arrange medical workers to closely monitor patients who have
had the injections and go all out to rescue those patients who have shown
serious clinical symptoms.
Clindamycin phosphate glucose injections are mainly
used to treat bacteria infections caused by gram-positive bacterium and
gram-positive anaerobic bacterium. Side effects are mainly restricted to the
gastrointestinal tract and anaphylactic reaction, sometimes coupled with
abnormalities with the liver and kidney body parts. Enditem
