Four people received potentially lethal Botox injections and had to be hospitalized as emergency cases.
Known as 'backstreet botox' treatments, this particular case consisted of a set of botulinum batch A which is strictly meant for laboratory research and not human use. Those who received the injections were affected with potentially fatal botulism symptoms that developed a few days later.
These injections were administered in batches of four to six numbers in areas surrounding the eyes, forehead and nose. As a result, the patients showed signs of intense exhaustion and neurological issues that eventually required them to be put on ventilator support to facilitate breathing.
Subsequently, they were administered with antidotes and were required to spend more than 5 weeks under hospitalization.
The patients were questioned in detail about the entire episode and it was learned that these injections were received at a private clinic that misused a vial of 100 microgrames of botulinum A neurotoxin that was strictly not intended for human use.
Surprisingly, the main perpetrator of the injections belonged to the medical fraternity but had managed to serve at the clinic despite a revoked license. The same doctor had misused the botulinum A sample by injecting four people, including himself.
Doctors and research faculty have reacted strongly to this episode, particularly by doctors from the US CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) in Atlanta published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
It cannot be treated lightly, according to doctors as the injections contained toxin 2857 times above the recommended level and were clearly capable of causing fatalities. Study leader Chris Braden expressed unequivocally that the four people who had received the injections were clearly on the verge of losing their lives if not given emergency medical aid.
Further, investigations of this episode have thrown light on the thriving black market for banned products of this kind. Therefore, the need of the hour is to formulate strategies and controls to regulate the distribution of samples meant for research to accredited laboratories.
The vial that the clinic had used wrongfully had the capacity to cause 14286 adult deaths. Clearly, even a single slip up can have tragic consequences.
The doctor who had perpetrated this particular offence has been punished with a three year jail term.
