Medical-use fentanyl in Argentina has been linked to 96 deaths after being contaminated with bacteria. The official count is 87, with nine more deaths under investigation. The alarm was raised in May due to serious bacterial infections among patients treated with the drug. Contaminated fentanyl traced to HLB Pharma was found in ampoules linked to the infections. Tests confirmed bacterial presence in both deceased individuals and fentanyl samples. Authorities suspect over 300,000 contaminated ampoules may have been distributed, with 45,000 administered prior to a market withdrawal.
As many as 96 people are now thought to have died in Argentina after being treated with medical-use fentanyl that was tainted with bacteria.
Strains of the bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae and Ralstonia pickettii, some of which were resistant to multiple antibiotics, were detected in the patients.
Investigators said the source was fentanyl, which it traced to the pharmaceutical company HLB Pharma and its laboratory, Laboratorio Ramallo.
Authorities say the contamination may have affected more than 300,000 ampoules distributed across Buenos Aires province, Santa Fe, Cordoba, Formosa and Buenos Aires city.
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