Taiwan's Y.F. Chemical faces further sanctions from the country's food and drug authority, which has ordered it to pull all sodium chloride solution products and keep production shut after contamination was found to cause adverse reactions in at least a dozen patients, Xinhua reported.
In May, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration issued a nationwide advisory to hospitals to avoid certain batches of injectable sodium chloride made by Y.F. Chemical, a move that followed a spate of over-the-counter drug recalls in April.
The agency said 8 patients developed fevers after injections, which it said were tainted with bacteria. It said 54,400 units of the drug had been distributed to major hospitals and pharmacies in Taiwan.
Sodium chloride usually is injected into dehydrated patients following major surgery.
In April, Taiwanese drug authorities issued two drug recalls within a week for use of lower grade ingredients in over-the-counter drugs.
In the latest recall, samples of the solution were found contaminated with Ralstonia pickettii during production, Chiang Yu-mei, head of the food and drug authority, told Xinhua.
The agency subsequently ordered continued suspension of manufacturing and recall of all products produced and on the market, totaling more than 16.1 million vials, Xinhua said.
Chiang, however, was quoted as saying a shortage in the products is unlikely, because manufacturers in Taiwan have sufficient supplies.
- here's the story from Xinhua