Prof. Sa'ar Hashavia, director of Hadassah Ein Kerem's emergency department, reported that four toddlers were brought in last Thursday with symptoms of drowsiness, apathy, and imbalance. Rapid testing raised suspicion of benzodiazepine poisoning — sedative drugs used in sleep and anxiety medications — which was later confirmed. The hospital notified authorities and the Health Ministry; all children recovered and were discharged in good condition.
Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem revealed new details Wednesday regarding the poisoning of four toddlers last Thursday — the latest chapter in an ongoing public health and criminal investigation into sedative contamination of baby food products.
Prof. Sa'ar Hashavia, director of the emergency department, said the children arrived on Thursday with symptoms including drowsiness, apathy, and loss of balance. A rapid bedside test raised suspicion of benzodiazepine poisoning — a class of sedatives found in sleep and anti-anxiety drugs — later confirmed by laboratory results. Because multiple children from a single setting were involved with no clear alternative cause, the hospital alerted the Health Ministry and police, suspecting non-accidental exposure.
All four children received supportive care and monitoring, then were discharged in good condition, Hashavia said. He warned that benzodiazepine poisoning can cause excessive drowsiness, unresponsiveness, instability, and in severe cases respiratory suppression and life-threatening danger.
As The Zioneer reported earlier Wednesday, the Health Ministry has expanded its recall of Prinok baby fruit puree after finding the drugs clonazepam and lorazepam in jars sold at two Jerusalem supermarket branches. Police have broadened their investigation, and MK Yitzhak Ginzburg (Otzma Yehudit) has called for an urgent Knesset Health Committee hearing. This new hospital account adds a detailed clinical timeline to the thread but does not name the specific product involved in the toddlers' case; hospital officials did not state a direct link to the Prinok recall.
3 developments
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- DevelopingMK Ginzburg demands urgent Health Committee hearing on baby food tampering
- StrongSedatives found in baby food sold in Israel — police probe expanded
Source and signal
- Internal intake