Feb 6, 2008, 5:07 GMT
Hong Kong - A Hong Kong man has died and nine others needed hospital treatment after taking an unregistered drug claiming to cure impotence, health officials said Wednesday.
The 53-year-old man and the others, aged between 44 and 86, all became ill with low blood sugar after taking a pill said to treat erectile dysfunction between December 2007 and January.
All sought help from hospital where one died. The case was referred to the coroner for investigation. A second man is still in intensive care unit while the remaining have been discharged.
A Department of Health investigation revealed two of the men had taken pills labelled 'Nangen' which they had bought from a street hawker and a shop in the mainland border city of Shenzhen.
Laboratory tests on the drug showed the presence of unregistered ingredients including a medication called glibenclamide which is used for lowering blood sugar in diabetics.
Side effects of the drug include nausea and gastro-intestinal upsets and a fall in blood sugar levels which can be life threatening.
The pills were also found to include sildenafil, the main active ingredient in Viagra.
Health officials are now warning the public not to take the drugs or any impotence medication without medical consultation.
Around 220 pharmacies and shops have been inspected after the cases came to light and some 130 pills seized.
A 49-year-old shopkeeper was arrested Friday for allegedly possessing poisonous drugs he claimed to have bought in mainland China.
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