The
Federal Government on Saturday alerted Nigerians that two confirmed falsified
versions of Quinine Sulphate earlier discovered in Cameroon and Democratic
Republic of Congo, might have been smuggled into the country.
The
government’s alarm was contained in a statement titled, “Falsified Quinine
Sulphate circulating in West and Central Africa”, issued by the Director (Media
and Public Relations) in the Ministry of Health, Mrs. Boade Akinola, on behalf
of the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole.
The
falsified versions, according to the statement, contained zero active
pharmaceutical ingredients.
She
said, “The quinine Sulphate is used in the treatment of malaria. The
implication of using the falsified one is that it will not be effective and may
also lead to other health challenges.”
“Quinine
Sulphate is used for the treatment of Falciparum Malaria in the region and this
implies that the falsified drugs will not be effective.
“These
products, which were initially discovered by a local NGO, failed the
preliminary field screening and were submitted to a World Health Organisation
pre-qualified Quality Assurance laboratory.
“Subsequent
analysis showed that neither product contained any of the stated active
pharmaceutical ingredient. The first product was discovered in Cameroon.”
She
gave the technical details of the first product as 20, Avenue Appia – CH-1211
Geneva 27 – Switzerland –Tel Central +41 22 791 2111 – Fax Central +41 22 791
3111.
Other
details of the product according to her are, fProduct Name: Quinine Sulfate 300
mg; Number of Tablets per container: 1000; Batch Number: 10H05 Expiry Date:
09/2018; Date of manufacture: 09/2014; Manufacturer: Novadina Pharmaceutical
Ltd, London, United Kingdom.”
Tags
Society