Spanish babies develop 'werewolf syndrome' after medical mix-up

Several Spanish children suddenly sprouted hair all over their bodies earlier this year after developing "werewolf syndrome" as a result of a mix-up of medicines that the nation's Health Ministry is continuing to investigate.

At least 17 children and babies developed the condition after being given a drug that was supposed to treat gastric reflux.

Maria Luisa Carcedo, the nation's health minister, said in a statement that some batches of a medicine labeled as the gastric reflux drug omeprazole in fact contained a medicine called minoxidil, which is used to treat hair loss.

The mislabeled medicine was then distributed to pharmacies and sold over the counter.

Carcedo said the mix-up meant some of the children and babies who took the drug developed a condition known as hypertrichosis, which causes abnormal hair growth.

The Guardian newspaper reported that the Farma-Quimica Sur SL laboratory in the southern city of Malaga made the labeling mistake, which happened in June but which was only made public this week.

Carcedo said the laboratory has been put in mothballs as a precaution and noted that the condition of the children is expected to improve, now that they have stopped taking the drug, which has been withdrawn from the market.

She said the mix-up appeared to have been an "internal error" at the lab.

The BBC quoted one mother as saying: "My son's forehead, cheeks, arms, legs, and hands were covered with hair... it was very scary."

The Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices, the Spanish department that regulates the health sector, published a report on the incident on its website this week.

The regulator said the first cases of excessive hair growth among children and babies emerged in July.

Spanish newspaper El Mundo quoted a young mother named Amaya as saying her 22-month-old daughter"began to grow hair on her face"after being given heartburn medicine, prompting Amaya to take her child to the doctor, who told her to stop giving her child the medicine and to put the product in her fridge, so it could be collected by investigators and analyzed.

Spanish newspaper El Pais quoted mother Angela Selles as saying her 6-month-old child developed thick hair on his body and "adult's eyebrows".

Metro, the free British tabloid daily newspaper, said the first batches of contaminated medicine were removed from pharmacies' shelves on July 11.

Spain's Granada Hoy newspaper said the authorities withdrew another 22 batches of the drug on Aug 6, after additional cases of children with "werewolf syndrome" emerged.

At least 23 Spanish pharmacies were put on red alert over fears they too may have stocked the mislabeled medicine. The problem was complicated when it emerged that pharmacies may have sold some of their supplies of the medicine to other retailers, according to the Pharmaceutical College of Granada.

Granada Hoy said Farma-Quimica Sur SL had imported the medicine in bulk from India.

Spain's health ministry said children's batches of omeprazole were the only ones too have been mislabeled. It said adults who had recently taken the medicine had no cause for concern.