Survivors of Panama mass poisoning that killed over 800 close roads

Survivors of mass poisoning by diethylene glycol closed the roads, in front of the Social Security Fund hospital complex on Transisthmian Highway on Tuesday, October  17.

The protest is part of the activities of the surviving patients to remember the victims and those affected by the mass poisoning that occurred 17 years ago.

Two new victims of massive poisoning with diethylene glycol have been recognized from a list of 322 files

Gabriel Pascual, president of the Committee of Relatives for the Right to Health and Life, pointed out that with these protests they seek to honor the memory of those who died from the poisoning.

Pascual indicated that currently there are 700 uncertified patients, 1,020 receiving pensions, more than 800 deaths, and a “countless number of people with sequelae.”

The spokesperson for the surviving patients of massive diethylene glycol poisoning indicated that they will stay on track because it is an important day to remember the victims of a health system that they claim is still very deficient. “The health system is not improving.”

The poisoning by diethylene glycol in Panama occurred in 2006, after the consumption of adulterated medicines through the pharmacies of the Social Security Fund.

It was initially considered an atypical disease (called “kidney failure syndrome”, ARDS) that was first observed in August 2006, but it was not until the end of September that medical authorities observed an unusual behavior of deaths caused by the sickness.

The authorities of the Social Security Fund issued a memorandum on September 27 notifying doctors of any patient who had kidney syndrome with neurological manifestations.

On October 2, medical authorities represented by the Minister of Health at the time, Camilo Alleyne, publicly announced the death of six people who were affected by the “syndrome.”

It was later discovered that the “syndrome” was a massive poisoning from altered medications that affected 1,300 people and killed over 800.