Spurious heart medicine kills 120 in Pakistan

The toll due to consumption of spurious medicines at a well known heart institute has risen to 120, with a woman losing her life Saturday.

According to the Punjab province health department, a 60-year-old woman named Bashiran Bibi died at the Mayo Hospital, Geo News reported.

The health department said more than 400 patients were still under treatment in various hospitals in the metropolis.

Punjab’s state health secretary and the chief executive of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore were sacked by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif after the toll crossed 100.

Samples of a heart medicine believed to be the cause of the deaths were sent to a laboratory in London and were found to be substandard and injurious to health.

The Isotab tablet samples were heavily contaminated with Pyrimethamine, a commonly used anti-malarial drug, the laboratory report said.

Experts said Pyrimethamine may have caused deadly reactions in the cardiac patients.