Panamanian Tainted Medicine Deaths Up
The Panama Attorney s Office announcement of over 220 deaths caused by the consumption of medicines contaminated with an industrial substance caused a huge stir in this Central American country on Thursday.

Fourth Public Prosecutor Dimas Guevara informed that the deaths of 221 persons possibly linked to the fouled medicine are being studied just in Panama Province and San Miguelito District.

However, Social Security Administration (CSS) Director Rene Luciani denied those figures, and said the Ministry of Health has determined 49 deaths so far and the rest are denunciations by relatives of purported victims which are under investigation.

The Committee of Relatives of Patients and Victims of the case, however, backed Guevara s statement.

Due to the possible increase of fatal victims due to consumption of the contaminated medicine, authorities ordered the exhumation of bodies to perform autopsies at the Legal Medicine Institute.