How many people were victims of thalidomide?
It is widely believed that as many as 100,000 babies were affected by the drug in total. It is generally estimated that over 10,000 babies were born worldwide and today fewer than 3,000 survive.
How many people in the US were affected by thalidomide?
The drug was not approved in the United States in the 1960s, but as many as 20,000 Americans were given thalidomide in the 1950s and 1960s as part of two clinical trials operated by the American drug makers Richardson-Merrell and Smith, Kline & French.
How many thalidomide babies were born in the 60s?
About 10,000 babies, many in Germany, Britain and Australia, were born with severe defects in the 1950s and 1960s after their mothers took it. Some babies had no arms or legs. Others had no ears or malformed kidneys.
Who was most affected by taking thalidomide?
The thalidomide scandal may have led to 10,000 miscarriages, stillbirths and infant deaths in Britain, according to the former director of the trust that oversees payments to hundreds of people disabled by the drug taken by their pregnant mothers.
Are there any living thalidomide babies still?
Today, fewer than 3,000 are still alive. In Britain, it’s about 470. Among the nearly 50 countries affected are Japan (approximately 300 survivors), Canada and Sweden (both more than 100), and Australia (45).
What percentage of people were affected by thalidomide?
The total number of infants affected by use during pregnancy is estimated at 10,000, of which about 40% died around the time of birth. Those who survived had limb, eye, urinary tract, and heart problems.
How many thalidomide babies were there in the United States?
It is estimated that nearly 20,000 patients, several hundred of whom were pregnant women, were given the drug to help alleviate morning sickness or as a sedative, and at least 17 children were consequently born in the United States with thalidomide-associated deformities.
Are there still thalidomide babies being born?
A new scientific study seen exclusively by the BBC indicates that the drug Thalidomide is still causing birth defects in Brazil today. It’s been given to people suffering from leprosy to ease some of their symptoms, and some women have taken it unaware of the risks they run when pregnant.
Was there a thalidomide settlement?
Distillers Biochemicals paid out approximately £28m in compensation following a legal battle. The British Thalidomide Children’s Trust was set up in 1973 as part of a £20 million legal settlement between Distillers Company and 429 children with thalidomide-related disabilities.
Who was the first thalidomide baby?
In 1961, the manufacturer took thalidomide off the market. Survivors are still living with its effects. In April 1962, Gunhild Krämer-Kornja was born in the small German town of Allendorf. She had short arms, four fingers on each hand — some of which had grown together — and her rectum was on the side of her hip.
Who created thalidomide?
Thalidomide is a drug that was developed in the 1950s by the West German pharmaceutical company Chemie Grünenthal GmbH. It was originally intended as a sedative or tranquiliser, but was soon used for treating a wide range of other conditions, including colds, flu, nausea and morning sickness in pregnant women.
Did thalidomide get sued?
Each of 62 “thalidomide babies” whose parents had sued the company which made and marketed the drug their mothers took during pregnancy will get “very substantial” damages under terms of settlement of the actions, a High Court judge was told yesterday.
How many thalidomide babies are still alive today?
Of the 10,000 that were born, approximately 5,000 died in their first year of life. According to the Thalidomide Trust in the UK, there are fewer than 3,000 thalidomide survivors worldwide alive today.
What countries still use thalidomide?
Several European countries and Japan have also recorded MM as the primary use for thalidomide [14,15]. In Brazil, thalidomide is indicated for the treatment of ENL, aphthous ulcers in patients with HIV-AIDS, graft-versus-host disease, lupus erythematosus, MM, and myelodysplastic syndrome [16].
How many doctors distributed thalidomide?
As part of her quest to understand her story, Ms. Sampson asked the F.D.A. for the list of American doctors who distributed thalidomide. Soon she was turning through the roughly 1,200 doctors who worked with Richardson-Merrell, and nearly 70 who received the drug through Smith, Kline & French. She was searching for her mother’s obstetrician.
How much did the thalidomide survivors get?
^ a b “Thalidomide survivors to get £20m”. BBC News. 23 December 2009. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2011. ^ “About Us”.
Who are some famous people who have been affected by thalidomide?
Niko von Glasow, a thalidomide survivor, produced a documentary called NoBody’s Perfect, based on the lives of 12 people affected by the drug, which was released in 2008. Lorraine Mercer MBE of the United Kingdom, born with phocomelia of both arms and legs, is the only thalidomide survivor to carry the Olympic Torch.