The latest developments in the death of leukemia children by a contaminated dosage: MOH
The Ministry of Public Health and Population held a press conference today to inform the public of the details and latest developments regarding the death of a number of children who suffer from leukemia.
At the conference, the head of the Medical Council, Dr. Mujahid Maasar, indicated that as soon as he received the notification of this incident, the Minister of Health formed an investigation committee from the concerned authorities, which has been working on this matter since the beginning of the incident
He explained that 29 cases received a dose of the smuggled drug, 10 of whom did not experience any health problems, while 19 cases were exposed to exacerbations, which resulted in the death of 10 children, and one child is still in the intensive care unit, noting that the rest of the children have improved. He also pointed out that two other cases were also discovered that were exposed to drug complications in Hadramout, one of them is in the intensive care unit.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the committee investigated and sent samples of the contaminated drug that was used by the patients, which were purchased from a pharmacy, for examination in the laboratory of the Supreme Authority for Medicines, in addition to other number of private hospitals and central health laboratories. The results showed that the batch was contaminated with deadly bacteria, which led to severe meningitis in children.
Dr. Maasar stressed that the reason for the delay in getting the results of the examined drug is because 14 days are required for the results to appear. He stressed that the investigations have been completed and the case file has been referred to the Public Prosecutor.
He called on the United Nations to quickly open Sana’a International Airport and Yemeni ports in order to control and speed up the entry of medicines into the country to avoid such disasters and limit the entry of smuggled medicines to Yemen.
In turn, the head of the Supreme Commission for Medicines and Medical Supplies, Dr. Mohammed Al-Ghaili, confirmed that the exacerbations the sick children were exposed to are the result of the presence of a drug smuggled from outside the country and reached a pharmacy in the capital, Sana’a, which was purchased by the patients’ families, and caused these complications and the death of a number of cases.
He pointed out that based on the direction of the Minister of Health, the incident was checked, and it was found that there was a contaminated batch that caused complications, as samples from this batch were analyzed, the drug was traced, and what was found in the market was withdrawn, and the source of the drug was known in coordination with the security services. He stressed that the authority is currently working to find out the source of the drug industry and verify the manufacturer.
The head of the Supreme Authority for Medicines held the aggression coalition responsible for the entry of smuggled medicines and the delay in the arrival of vital medicines, especially for chronic diseases.
Meanwhile, the Director of the Leukemia Treatment Unit at Kuwait Hospital, Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Hadi, discussed the efforts of the cadres in the unit in caring for leukemia patients since the establishment of the unit until today. He pointed to the humanitarian role played by the cadres of the unit in caring for leukemia patients.
He pointed out that 50 leukemia cases receive treatment weekly at the Leukemia Center at Kuwait Hospital, and many of them are recovering. Dr. Al-Hadi called on the media not to be drawn into rumors and to verify the information before publishing it.