Fatalities associated with ingestion of diethylene glycol-contaminated glycerin used to manufacture acetaminophen syrup--Haiti, November 1995-June 1996

MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1996 Aug 2;45(30):649-50.

Abstract

From November 1995 through June 1996, acute anuric renal failure was diagnosed in 86 children (aged 3 months-13 years) in Haiti; most (85%) children were aged < or = 5 years. On June 14, 1996, a joint investigation was initiated by the Ministry of Health of Haiti, the University General Hospital in Port-au-Prince, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, the Caribbean Epidemiology Center, and CDC. This report summarizes the preliminary findings of this ongoing investigation, which indicate that this outbreak was associated with diethylene glycol (DEG)-contaminated glycerin used to manufacture acetaminophen syrup.

MeSH terms

  • Acetaminophen* / administration & dosage
  • Acute Kidney Injury / chemically induced*
  • Acute Kidney Injury / mortality
  • Administration, Oral
  • Adolescent
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Drug Contamination*
  • Ethylene Glycols / poisoning*
  • Glycerol*
  • Haiti / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Infant

Substances

  • Ethylene Glycols
  • Acetaminophen
  • diethylene glycol
  • Glycerol