Study reveals 32 babies who died were exposed to the highly addictive drug

Thirty two Victorian babies under the age of one had traces of methamphetamines in their system before they died, with the cause of death “unknown” in many of those cases.

New research has found 50 Victorian children aged 12 years and under were exposed to methamphetamines before they died, and the cause of death was “unknown” in more than half of cases.

The shocking study, which looked at child deaths reported to the Victorian Coroner between 2011 and 2020, also revealed that 32 babies exposed to the highly addictive drug were under the age of one.

Led by PhD student Dylan Mantinieks and Associate Professor Dimitri Gerostamoulos from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine and ­Monash University’s Department of Forensic Medicine, it investigated the children’s ­exposure to meth, also known as ice or crystal meth.

Mr Mantinieks said of concern was that 64 per cent of the deaths had occurred over a three-year period from 2018 to 2020.

According to the report many of the children exposed to meth prior to their death were babies

He said the children did not die because of the drugs, but their presence was detected in blood, urine and hair samples after death, suggesting second or third-hand exposure.

Third-hand exposure is where the drug has contaminated household surfaces.

“At the institute we have been concerned for some time about illicit drugs detected in the deaths of children,” Mr Mantinieks said.

“One of the most problematic drugs is meth, and it is ­revealing the number of cases where we found this drug.

New research has revealed 50 Victorian kids were exposed to meth before they died. Picture: AFP

“We also saw an increase in the number of adult deaths over the same period so it could be an increase of availability of meth in the community, particularly of what we know as crystal meth, which is a highly pure form of the drug.”

He said one of the ways in which people consumed this drug was by smoking.

“What I am thinking is that the increased rate of smoking has led to second and third-hand exposure of children in the same environment as the users,” Mr Mantinieks said.

The researchers reported in the journal Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology that hair analysis provided ­additional means to identify cases that were unknown to child protection services.

They wrote that this method of detection may have implications for other children in the same drug exposure environment, such as the home.

“We can definitely say there has been a level of exposure,” Mr Mantinieks.

He said it was “concerning” that 62 per cent of deaths in the children in the study were ­described as unascertained.

“That means the forensic pathologist was not able to ­determine the cause of death,” Mr Mantinieks said.

Where a cause was identified, these included complications of prenatal drug use (where a mother had been an illicit drug user) and some natural causes such as asthma or infection.

There were also other causes such as trauma, the effects of fire, and drowning.

Mr Mantinieks is calling for more research on the worrying issue.

“What concerned me the most was that only one in two of the children were known to child protection services at the time of their deaths,” he said.

“And 75 per cent had brothers or sisters who may be continuing to live in that same environment.

“I hope that what comes from this research is a mission to do further investigations to understand second and third-hand exposure and also to ­determine where this exposure occurred.

“Tragically we can’t help the children who have died, but perhaps there is a way we can help protect their siblings and other children at risk.”