The United Nations Population Fund estimates that, across the world, as many as 5, 000 women a year may be fatal victims.

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There is also a real risk of interaction with commonly prescribed medications, as well as an interaction with alcohol, that may be fatal.

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The report cites numerous commonly-used herbs with potential toxic effects, including Belladonna (which can cause respiratory depression) and Pokeroot (which may be fatal in children).

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The concessions may not be fatal to the government's documentation drive (some retailers can defer declaring their stocks and will not be subject to on-the-spot inspections, though they will remain liable for audit).

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Trying to build a new core consumer at this stage of business maturity may prove to be fatal.

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And an internal report in May said that BP executives should be sacked for failing to prevent a fatal blast.

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After the meeting, Hueston was headed for England, where he serves on the British committee of scientists that found there may be a link between that country's bovine disease and a rare but fatal human equivalent called Creutzfeld-Jakob disease, or CJD.

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