Pakistan heart patient death toll rises

Dozens of heart patients in Lahore, Pakistan, have died in recent weeks, allegedly after being administered drugs suspected to be faulty, officials said. Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital, said the suspected faulty drugs have claimed lives of about 100 cardiac patients at a government cardiology institute, Dawn newspaper reported Thursday. The government's health department, however, had put the toll at 72 as of Wednesday, the report said. Talking to reporters, Sharif blamed the federal government for the crisis, saying registration of the drugs, their pricing and licensing are the federal government's responsibility, Dawn reported. Sharif said his government has sent samples of the medicines to France and England for analysis. State authorities have arrested owners of three local drugs companies accused of supplying the suspected faulty drugs, the BBC reported. There has been no comment from these firms about the allegations. The BBC report quoted officials as saying patients treated with the drugs suffer rapid depletion of white cells and blood platelets. The government has urged people not to use the suspected drugs, the BBC reported.