Taichung clinic shut in poison probeCHINESE MEDICINE PRESCRIPTIONS: Blood tests showed that Taichung City Councilor Chang Yen-tung and his father had dangerously high levels of lead in their bodiesBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterThe Taichung Health Bureau yesterday suspended operations at a Chinese medicine clinic for a month and fined the owner, after a preliminary investigation into the lead poisoning of Taichung City Councilor Chang Yen-tung’s (張彥彤) family indicated the source was herbal medicine prescribed for them at the clinic. He, his sister and parents all reportedly suffered from lead poisoning, he said. A Chinese medicine clinic pharmacist in Taichung on Thursday pours out herbal powder. Hung Tung-jung (洪東榮), a doctor in China Medical University’s toxicology department, on Saturday said that the public should ensure that prescribed Chinese herbal medicine is from manufacturers awarded the good manufacturing practice (GMP) certificate and should not take products or herbal medicine from dubious sources. In the late stages of lead poisoning, a person could develop unsteadiness or other problems walking, muscle atrophy, or complete paralysis, Hung said.

Source: Taipei Times August 02, 2020 15:56 UTC