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Counterfeiting and piracy harm society in many ways that are not easily understood. Not only can counterfeits cause risks to consumer health and safety, they can actually Kill. From car and aeroplane parts, to spurious beverages and food, counterfeits not only harm but take lives.
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This page is a special summary of cases of counterfeiting and piracy that have caused fatalities. Each reference has been extracted directly from a story archived in the BASCAP Case Study Database. For further research, the full article can be found by clicking on the associated endnote.
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Four killed, 54,000 poisoned by contaminated milk in China - China, 14 September 2008
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Milk products contaminated with Melamine, an industrial chemical, have poisoned over 54,000 children in China, state media reports. So far four children have died and more than 100 are seriously ill; 793
Counterfeit Viagra vendors may face manslaughter charges - Hong Kong, 21 May 2008
New Zealanders warned over counterfeit Cialis - Singapore, 28 April 2008
Heparin Contamination Points To China - USA, 2 April 2008
- ...federal drug regulators concluded that Americans might be the latest victims of lethal Chinese drug counterfeiting after the substance had been linked to 19 deaths and hundreds of allergic reactions; 771
Contaminated heparin kills 19- USA, 1 April 2008
- The suspect batches of heparin, a bloodthinning drug, have been linked to 19 deaths in the US and hundreds of allergic reactions; 763
Fake impotence drug kills - China, 1 March 2008
- One man has died and nine others have been admitted to hospital after having reportedly taken impotence drugs that were fake or contained unregistered medicines; 759
Diethylene-laced medicine: official death toll of 115 disputed - Panama, 1 March 2008
- But in a new report that is the government’s first effort to offer a precise toll of those killed and disabled in the mass poisoning of 2006; 758
Further concerns regarding Chinese drug exports - USA, 16 February 2008
- Baxter International, the pharmaceutical company at the centre of a potential contamination scandal, has revealed that the Chinese facility they import active ingredients from has not been inspected by the US Food & Drug Administration; 764
Diglycol injection kills No 14 - China, 1 February 2008
- A batch of fake Chinese medicine claimed its 14th victim when a man died of kidney failure last month; 751
Counterfeit alcohol kills fourteen - Mongolia, 7 January 2008
- 14 people have been killed and over 125 people have been hospitalised in Ulan Bator, Mongolia after a local distillery produced liquor containing methanol; 748
Diethylene death toll rises - Panama, 1 December 2007
- The death toll from ingesting medication that contained poisonous substances imported from abroad has now risen to 471; 692
Fake charger killed boy - UK, 1 November 2007
- Connor O’Keefe was found dead on the floor of his hotel room on the island of Phuket clutching the wires of the £9 charger that his father had bought at a local store believing it was made by Nintendo; 672
Gang produced aircraft parts - Russia, 1 September 2007
- Experts say the sale of such counterfeit products presents a serious threat for air passengers. Passenger plane accidents in Russia and other CIS countries last year resulted in 412 deaths - or 56% of the total number of people killed in air crashes world-wide
; 676
Man killed by exploding phone - China, 6 July 2007
- A Chinese man, Xiao Jinpeng, has been killed in the Gansu Province after the battery of his Motorola mobile phone exploded, mortally wounding him; 705
New food scares put China under pressure to improve export safety controls - China, 1 June 2007
- New concerns were raised after tainted Chinese pet food ingredients killed and sickened thousands of dogs and cats in the United States, resulting in the largest pet food recall in US history last month; 662
Head of China’s Food and Drug Administration sentenced to death - China, 30 May 2007
- New concerns were raised after tainted Chinese pet food ingredients killed and sickened thousands of dogs and cats in the United States, resulting in the largest pet food recall in US history last month 698
Online drugs kill Canadian woman - Canada, 20 March 2007.
- “The pills had traces of uranium, strontium, selenium, aluminum, arsenic, barium and boron”; 654
13 more deaths due to counterfeit alcohol- Russia, 20 December 2006.
- 13 people have died due to counterfeit alcohol in the last 24 hours in a Siberian city in the Irkutsk region of Russia; 630
Many killed in Panama due to fake pharmaceuticals - Panama, 21 November 2006.
- The tainted medicines all contained diethylene glycol, a chemical cousin of antifreeze, which is used to keep glue and cosmetics moist. The diethylene glycol is often mistakenly added to pharmaceuticals by counterfeiters instead of the harmless propylene glycol, with dire consequences; 622
Counterfeit alcohol kills 3 and hospitalises 60 in Urals – Russia, 2 October 2006
- The spurious alcohol was sold in vodka bottles and contained ethanol-based glass cleaner; 602.
Fake malaria drug implicated in Burmese man`s death – Burma, 13 June 2006
- A 23-year old man in Burma with malaria died because the medicine he received was fake; 422.
Deadly Noodles – Kazakhstan, 1 October 2005
- At least one person died and many others poisoned in the Kazakh city of Alma-Ata by instant noodles bearing the Rollton brand; 14.
Counterfeit Raki kills at least 23 in Turkey - Turkey, 1 April 2005
- At least 23 people in Turkey have died and dozens more have been hospitalised after drinking counterfeit raki containing lethal levels of methyl alcohol; 160.
Counterfeit anti-anaemia drug causes the death of a 22-year old woman – Argentina, 1 January 2005
- The woman died of liver failure just days after being given what was thought to be a routine injection of Yectafer at her local hospital in the city of Viedma; 190.
Duma Roundtable Urges Action on Counterfeiting – Russia, 1 December 2004
- Counterfeiting is estimated to cost the Russian government around US$3 billion in lost revenue and over 30,000 Russians die each year through drinking bootleg vodka; 206.
Counterfeit Verorab anti-rabies injections on sale – Kenya, 1 November 2004
- Counterfeit Verorab anti-rabies injections have been found on sale in Kenya. The latest incident comes in the wake of a rabies outbreak in Suba District which has killed six people; 218.
Death Toll Reaches 11 from fake Liquor – China, 1 June 2004
- Fake liquor containing formaldehyde has claimed the lives of at least eleven people in southern China and led to the hospitalisation of dozens more. When swallowed, formaldehyde can cause severe pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. The consumption of 0.3 to 1 gram will result in death; 258.
Fake Baby Formula Claims at Least 13 Lives – China, 1 May 2004
- Fake baby milk-powder formula containing virtually no nutritional value has claimed the lives of at least 13 babies, with some press reports claiming that as many as 60 infants may have died from being fed the fake formula; 260.
Counterfeit Rum Causes Death in Finland – Finland, 1 August 2003
- Counterfeit Captain Morgan Black Label Jamaican Rum has led to the death of one person in Finland; 470.
Man Dies after Drinking Counterfeit Wine in Thailand – Thailand, 1 July 2003
- A man has died and eight others have been hospitalised after drinking counterfeit La Sante wine; 473.
Nine die after drinking counterfeit rice wine in Taiwan – Taiwan, 1 December 2002
- Nine people so far are believed to have died from drinking fake rice wine contaminated with methanol; 288.
Illegal Vodka Claims 23,000 Lives in Russia – Russia, 1 November 2002
- Over 23,000 Russians have died from drinking illicit vodka so far this year according to figures released by the National Alcohol Association; 290.
Did counterfeit Malibu cocktail kill a tourist in Turkey?– Turkey, 1 August 2002
- Authorities are believed to be investigating the possibility that a British tourist died after drinking a counterfeit liqueur containing toxic methanol; 301.
Illegal vodka kills at least 60 in Estonia – Estonia, 1 October 2001
- Sixty people have died and 49 people are still critically ill in hospital (as at 19 September 2001) after drinking illicit vodka; 331.
Death toll from alcoholic poisoning reaches nearly 16,000 – Russia, 1 September 2000
- A total of 15,823 Russians died in the first five months of this year from accidental alcohol poisoning; 389.
Fake Malaria drugs kills dozens in Cambodia – Cambodia, 1 June 2000
- Dozen of people have died through taking ineffective, fake malaria medicines. The fake drugs are being sold as Mefloquine and Artesunate, which are powerful anti-malaria medicines; 385.
Twenty-seven die after consuming fake liquor – China, 1 March 1998
- Government officials in North China’s Shanxi Province are taking measures to crack down on lethal counterfeit liquor after 27 people died and 200 others were hospitalised recently after consuming beverages with a high methanol content; 376.
Fake vaccine leads to 3,000 deaths in Niger - Niger, 1 September 1996
- A fake meningitis vaccine is thought be have resulted in the deaths of about 3,000 people in this central African country; 363.
30 children die after taking fake drugs - Haiti, 1 August 1996
- The US Centre for Disease Control recently announced that two fever reducing acetaminophen syrups had caused the deaths of up to 30 Haitian children. The drugs Afebril and Valodon were found to be laced with diethylene glycol, a poisonous ingredient found in antifreeze; 362.
Killer Aspirin – Nigeria, 5 November 1990
- One hundred and nine children die in Nigeria after taking a fatal pharmaceutical preparation containing paracetamol and an industrial solvent; 355.
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