A 44-year-old woman who may have drunk herbal tea laced with paracetamol is in a critical condition in hospital following liver failure.
Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health (DH) confirmed on Friday that the woman, previously of good health, was admitted to Queen Mary Hospital on May 22.
She had been suffering symptoms of digestive discomfort and jaundice since late April when she began to consume two types of herbal tea purchased from a shop in Kwai Chung in the New Territories, according to a relative.
The 44-year-old is now unconscious and in critical condition, with the diagnosis being hepatitis with unknown cause.
There is reportedly none of the woman’s tea left to test, but a similar sample purchased by her relative was found to contain paracetamol and chlorpheniramine.
A DH spokesman said, “Paracetamol is a painkiller and can cause liver damage when taken in high doses. Chlorpheniramine is commonly used for treating runny nose and allergy and its side-effects include drowsiness, dry mouth, blurred vision, nausea and constipation.”
He stressed, however, that it is too soon to confirm whether or not the tea caused the woman’s liver failure.
Photo: Antonio Foncubierta
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