The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has identified 28 cases of pneumonia since 1996 that it suspects were side effects of nonprescription drugs for common colds, it was learned Saturday.
While no deaths have been reported from these cases of interstitial pneumonia, most of the patients had to be hospitalized, the health ministry said. A spokesman at a drugmaker said the incidence of developing pneumonia is very low.
Interstitial pneumonia is a form of the illness that involves the connective tissue of the lung. The symptoms include shortness of breath, fever and coughs, and can lead to death.