Mexican authorities said Tuesday they had arrested an anesthetist they accuse of a meningitis outbreak that killed 35 patients and sickened 79.
Sonia de la Garza, chief prosecutor in the northern state of Durango, said the anesthesiologist used contaminated morphine. It is unclear what charges she faces.
De la Garza said the doctor used “improper procedures” in administering spinal blocks, mostly on pregnant women.
MYSTERIOUS OUTBREAK OF MENINGITIS IN MEXICO KILLS 35
The doctor, whose name has been withheld, apparently transported his own morphine from one private hospital to another, spreading a fungal infection that tainted the drug at the first clinic, authorities said.
A Mexican anesthetist has been arrested for allegedly supplying contaminated morphine which has caused a mysterious spike in meningitis infections and deaths.
The drug may not have been stored properly. Some smaller hospitals or maternity clinics in Mexico do not have their own dispensing pharmacies or are not licensed to handle controlled drugs such as opioids, and therefore rely on anesthesiologists to bring them from home.
De la Garza’s morphine was in “multi-use” vials that would be used on more than one patient. He said tests had ruled out the possibility that it could have been contaminated at the time of manufacture.
FLORIDA WARNS RESIDENTS ABOUT GIANT AFRICAN LAND SNAIL THAT CAN CAUSE MENINGITIS IN HUMANS: REPORT
Authorities also arrested the head of the state health inspection service and one of his employees.
They respond to charges of failure to perform their duties and murder. The director was deemed unfit to hold the position and the employee allegedly falsified an inspection report on one of the four private hospitals, failing to report improper handling or storage of medicines.
It was the latest scandal for Mexico’s woefully under-equipped healthcare system, which has also had recurring difficulties in providing medicines for children with cancer.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In 2020, 14 people died after a hospital run by Mexico’s state-owned oil company gave dialysis patients a drug contaminated with bacteria. More than 69 patients fell ill in that epidemic.
