Tainted Skin Cream Imported From Mexico Leaves Sacramento Woman In Semi-Comatose State

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Health officials say a Sacramento woman has been left in a semi-comatose state after using a tainted skin cream product.

The product was labeled as Pond's, but the Sacramento County Public Health Department says it had been imported through a third party from Mexico that adds chemicals to the cream for skin lightening and to remove spots and wrinkles.

Officials say the product the woman used was tainted with methylmercury.

It's the first reported case of methylmercury poisoning linked to skin cream in the US, according to the health department.

"Sacramento County Public Health urges the community to immediately stop using similar skin creams imported from Mexico due to the risk of contamination with methylmercury," said Sacramento County Public Health Officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye in a release on Tuesday.

Health officials are now testing similar creams in the Sacramento area for methylmercury.

California has seen over 60 poisonings, health officials say, over the last nine years linked to foreign or unlabeled skin creams.