Sixty victims were given 11 million yuan (US$1.3 million) in
compensation at the Lusong District People's Court in Zhuzhou of
Central China's
Hunan
Province yesterday for the harm done to them by a harmful
medicine.
The drug, called Meihua-K, was labeled as a herb medicine and was
produced by Banzhou Medicine Production Company in the
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It was claimed that the drug
could help people improve their health.
However, the medical supervision department in Hunan Province found
that the medicine was actually produced by a company in
Shaanxi Province, which does not have a license to produce
medicine.
The department also found that the company had added some medical
materials, which had expired.
Around 71 people were sent to hospital with severe side
effects.
Sources with the hospital said 69 patients later recovered after
urgent treatment, while two others were in a serious condition.
Shen Zhifang was one of the two seriously affected patients.
Shen began to take Meihua-K in August, and began to feel ill after
consuming two boxes of the medicine.
She was sent to a local hospital but has lost most of her sense of
touch, sight, smell and also her hearing.
Her husband had to resign from his job to accompany her to the
hospital and her mother's limited income in vegetable sales had to
support the whole family. Doctors admitted that Shen's health is
unlikely to recover completely.
Another other patient severely harmed by the medicine was
24-year-old Chen Guilan.Meihua-K paralyzed her brain. Sources at a
local hospital have said her intelligence level is now similar to
that of a five-year-old.
(China
Daily April 3, 2002)