20 new deaths from contaminated fentanyl under investigation, bringing the death toll to 74.

Deaths from contaminated clinical fentanyl in Argentina rose to 74 , after Federal Court No. 3 of La Plata incorporated 20 new cases not registered in the official system of the Ministry of Health (SISA).

All the deceased received ampoules of the opioid manufactured by HLB Pharma Group SA , through its Ramallo SA plant, which presented bacterial contamination .

As of this week, SISA officially recorded 53 deaths, but the court added one more: a patient from Balcarce whose family had taken the case to court.

With the arrival of new medical records submitted by hospitals, Judge Ernesto Kreplak confirmed that there was a "black figure" of unreported cases: 20 additional deaths that had not been officially reported.

"We're starting to break the black mark," judicial sources said, noting that all patients received fentanyl from contaminated batch No. 31,202 and had positive blood cultures for Klebsiella or Ralstonia.

One of the new deaths occurred in Córdoba, where some 15,000 ampoules from the contaminated batch were distributed to public hospitals and private clinics.

At Vélez Sarsfield Hospital , for example, 1,700 ampoules were purchased and four suspected cases were reported, one of them with a fatal outcome.

Judicial sources suspect there may be more victims in the province who were not reported to the SISA.

In total, the case targets 24 people linked to HLB Pharma, Ramallo SA, and Droguería Alfarma , owned by Ariel García Furfaro. Those investigated include immediate family members and associates of the businessman.

All of them have assets under embargo, are prohibited from leaving the country, and are under investigation for the production and distribution of contaminated medicines .

The 20 new cases will be examined by the Forensic Medical Corps and reviewed by experts appointed by the defense.

The investigation established that lot No. 31,202, produced on December 18, 2024, included 154,530 contaminated ampoules .

Of these, 64,000 were recovered , while 90,527 remain pending . Nearly 48,000 remain in stock under a ban, and 42,617 have been administered or are in unreported warehouses.

The withdrawal is coordinated by ANMAT and the Ministry of National Security , which maintain a strict protocol to prevent new cases.