Four left paralysed by anti-wrinkle jabs

A TOP health official in Florida has urged people not to get anti-wrinkle injections after investigators said four people were paralysed by raw botulism marketed as a cheap alternative to Botox.

Federal investigators say 51 vials of botulinum toxin worth $53,000 (E41,000) were shipped by an Arizona supplier to 13 South Florida customers last year. Their investigation is continuing.

The federal government has filed a request to a Fort Lauderdale court that a judge block Tucson, Arizona-based Toxin Research International Inc and its affiliates from offering the substance for sale through national mailings to doctors’ offices.