On Tuesday, 20 new deaths were confirmed: three in Formosa, one in Cordoba, seven in Santa Fe, and nine in Bahia Blanca, bringing the total to 97, while health authorities fear there may be unreported cases.
A judicial case was opened after doctors at the Italian Hospital in La Plata detected several cases of severe, rapidly developing pneumonia in hospitalized patients.
Deaths have been reported in health centers in different provinces related to the administration of contaminated fentanyl in intensive care and critical care units. Clinical and judicial authorities fear that more deaths may occur.
In all cases, the prosecutor’s office is investigating the possible relationship with the administration of fentanyl from the same batch: No. 31,202, produced in December 2024 at the Laboratorios Ramallo plant for HLB Pharma. That production is currently under judicial and health investigation due to alleged bacterial contamination.
A federal prosecutor’s office is reviewing the last five years of actions by the National Administration of Drugs, Food, and Medical Technology to determine if there were irregularities in the control of the laboratories involved.
Judge Ernesto Kreplak ordered a key expert examination at the Faculty of Exact Sciences of the UNLP (National University of La Plata) to analyze ampoules of uncontaminated fentanyl and trace the drug’s pathway, according to the news website 0221.
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