Expired drug kills 10 child leukemia patients in Yemen
Yemeni health officials say expired doses of cancer treatment have killed at least 10 child leukemia patients in the rebel-held capital
CAIRO (AP) — At least 10 child leukemia patients in Yemen have died, and dozens more left seriously ill, after being administered expired doses of a cancer treatment in the rebel-held capital, medical officials and workers said on Friday.
Yemen’s ruinous conflict, now entering its eighth year, has caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and killed in excess of 150,000 people.
The children were aged between three and 15 and died at Sanaa’s Kuwait Hospital after being injected with old doses of smuggled medicine at a number of private clinics, the rebel-run Health Ministry said in a statement Thursday. The officials did not says when the 10 deaths occurred.
According to a half dozen health officials and workers who spoke to The Associated Press, some 50 children received a smuggled chemotherapy treatment known as Methotrexate that was originally manufactured in India. They said a total of 19 children had died from the expired treatment. The officials and workers spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not briefed to speak with the media.
