WASHINGTON ~ More than 100 people have died from taking the blood thinner heparin, the Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday, after imports of the drug were halted due to contamination linked to production in China.

The 103 deaths reported to the FDA of patients who had been using heparin occurred between January 2007 and February 2008, the agency said on its website. Sixty-two of those deaths were reported to have involved allergic reactions.

The FDA said on March 5 it had detected an unidentified contaminant in heparin injections sold by Baxter International pharmaceuticals.