Death toll continues in coolant poisoning scandal

 AN ANNUAL  death toll of  between 20 and 25 people continues in Panama 10 years  after hundreds died from  poisoning from government issued tainted  cough syrup.

For most it has  been a  slow, agonizing deaths for victims plagued with health problems.

They were all poisoned by diethylene glycol, the mixture used as an automobile coolant, It was a story that circled the world, as the government at first tried to dampen dpwn reports on the tragedy.

Children have been unable to attend school and adults have been unable to work.

Margarita Hernandez died September  13 after a decade of health problems related to diethylene glycol poisoning.

Her daughter, Josefina Altafulla, is still grieving reports La Prensa.

“She went to Social Security to find help, and instead she received death,” the young woman said.

Altafulla’s , brother also died from diethylene glycol poisoning. in 2006.

Altafulla saw her mother battle years of problems ranging from nerve damage to renal failure. There was little doctors could do since the effects were permanent say

“It was all due to medicine to treat a simple cough,” she she told La Prensa..

To date  2015, there have been 2,298 complaints filed with the authorities. So far only 670 cases have been confirmed.

Victims identified as eligible to receive a monthly pension of $600.

Documentary languishes

Meanwhile a documentary about the poisonings, cannot find a distributor.

It was made by Panamanian filmmaker Miguel Gonzálezand  highlights the health problems caused by the tainted medicine.

They include chronic renal failure, heart failure, neuropathy and cerebral ischemia, irritable bowel syndrome, degenerative disease of the spine, anxiety and depression and fibromyalgia syndrome.

It premiered in April 2015 at the Panama International The plan, says González, was to present it in cinemas this month.

But he is still searching for a distributor for a movie that sheds light into a dark Panama closet.