Argentina currently faces an acute public health emergency. In one instance, contaminated medical fentanyl was directly responsible for 87 deaths, and investigators believe the toll may be as high as 96. The synthetic opioid, approved for use in pain relief and anesthesia, has exploded in popularity. It’s extremely potent, up to 50-100 times stronger than morphine. Regulators are currently examining the causes of these deaths and what they mean for public safety.
The scandal came to a head after Anmat, Argentina’s drug regulatory agency, acknowledged that the bacterium entered through the deceased patients. That contamination was linked to ampoules from two lots of fentanyl manufactured by HLB Pharma. The contamination was linked to strains of bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae and Ralstonia pickettii, some of which exhibited resistance to multiple antibiotics.
The alarm was originally sounded in May when dozens of hospital patients started developing dangerous, hard-to-treat bacterial infections. As many as 300,000 ampoules could have been involved. These ampoules were further divided for distribution among Buenos Aires province, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Formosa and Buenos Aires city. According to preliminary estimates, nearly 45,000 tainted ampoules had been injected before HLB Pharma pulled the product from circulation.
Nine other deaths remain under investigation, raising alarm bells for health officials and families across the state. Alejandro Ayala, a spokesperson for affected families, stated, “The fentanyl caused their death within days.” Sadly, it took this horrific incident to raise these important questions. Businesses — specifically Purdue Pharma — are responsible for the production and distribution of the highly addictive opioid.
HLB Pharma’s owner, Ariel García Furfaro, has rejected any suggestion that his product was responsible for the deaths. In particular, he tackled the growing national alarm over public safety. He pointed out that the company was swift to take the contaminated product off the market. Ernesto Kreplak, a health official, reassured the public, saying, “Contaminated ampoules are not circulating today.”
No matter what HLB Pharma does, the judicial inquiry is still playing out. The DEA has arrested 24 of these suspects, who are responsible for the production and distribution of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. As of this writing, no charges have been filed. Adriana Francese, one of the attorneys working on the landmark case, underscored the importance of the investigation. It will be crucial in establishing who’s at fault for the calamity. “This is going to be very important to determine responsibility,” she said.