Science Quiz: On medical disasters

1 / 6 |
The drug shown here is created by slightly altering the chemical structure of Y. Name Y, whose use led to a tragedy in the 1950s and 1960s.

2 / 6 |
On January 27, 1928, 21 children were inoculated with a diphtheria vaccine in Bundaberg, Australia. By the next day 11 children had died. The vaccine was found to have been contaminated by bacteria. Name the investigator who revealed this cause, and later won a Nobel Prize for predicting acquired immune tolerance.

3 / 6 |
 In 1987, scavengers in Brazil found an abandoned teletherapy unit and distributed a glowing blue powder inside to others to rub on their skin. As a result four people died and 249 were found to have radioactive contamination. Identify the powder.

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Patients at the Sir J.J. Hospital in Bombay were treated with X to reduce intracranial pressure and other conditions in 1986. But the X was adulterated with diethylene glycol, leading to the deaths of 14 patients of acute renal failure. An inquiry exposed corruption in the drug procurement and testing system in Maharashtra. Name X.

5 / 6 |
The Dalkon Shield was an intrauterine device marketed as a safe contraceptive. But its design included a string that allowed bacteria to enter the uterus, causing severe pelvic inflammatory disease. While the fallout halted the device’s sale, _____ purchased unsterilised Shields at a discount to distribute in developing countries. Fill in the blank.

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 __________, an antiseptic for skin conditions, was widely prescribed in Japan to treat abdominal pain and diarrhoea. However it caused paralysis and blindness. Some 11,000 to 30,000 people were affected and Japan banned the drug in 1970. Fill in the blank.