More than 12,000 of human blood plasma treatments in China were found to be contaminated with HIV. The batch of intravenous immunoglobulin - a mixture of antibodies to treat a number of health problems - was reportedly produced by the state-owned Shanghai Xinxing Pharmaceutical Company, the second-biggest medical blood products manufacturer in the country.
According to the statement of The National Health Commission (NHC) released on Tuesday, the provincial health commission and disease control center of eastern China's Jiangxi found traces of HIV in the batch. Hospitals were then warned to quickly suspend the use of the contaminated Shanghai Xinxing batch.
A large number of batch consists of 12,229 50ml bottles of plasma with an expiry date of June 2021, the South China Morning Post reported. A representative of Jiangxi Provincial Disease Control Centre said it had not yet discovered cases of patients having contracted HIV from the batch.
The statement from NHC also advised hospitals to report any stocks of the contaminated blood plasma treatments and monitor the conditions of patients who had been treated with the faulty batch.
The health commission of Shaanxi province in northwestern China confirmed they received NHC notice and would trace the batch for retesting. Ten hospitals already reported back and would find out if there are patients who contracted HIV. Staff at hospitals in central Henan province and in Shanghai also confirmed they received the notice of NHC as well.
But, one head of hematology department at a Shanghai hospital said they had not yet received the notice. The doctor, who wished to remain unnamed, said the crucial point is to find out whether it was caused by a problem with the product or by a blood donor. He added that it's important to find out where the faulty batch was delivered to carry out a recall, as well as re-examination.
The Shanghai Xinxing Pharmaceutical Company specializes in the sale and the production of blood-based medical products. The company was reportedly controlled by the listed China Meheco Group - one of the biggest pharmaceutical firms in the country and owned by the China General Technology Group.
This latest medical controversy came less than a month after it was revealed that 145 children were treated with expired polio vaccines in eastern China's Jiangsu province. Another controversy back in July of last year involved 252,600 faulty rabies vaccines produced by the Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology - they were reportedly administered to thousands of toddlers.
Due to these vaccine scandals, the government consulted the first draft of a vaccine management law in November - allowing people to sue drug makers for punitive damages in cases of serious illness or death or serious illness caused by faulty vaccines.
