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Researchers reported that pharmacy
sales of substandard TB medications in poor countries could result in a public
health crisis. Report author Dr. Amir Attaran, a drug-counterfeiting expert at
the University of Ottawa, stated that 9 percent of 713 samples of TB
medications purchased in 17 countries contained little or no active ingredient.
Medications with too little active ingredient were even more dangerous than
those with no active ingredient, as an “inadequate dose” allowed drug-resistant
TB strains to develop.
Dr. Lucica Ditiu, executive
secretary of Stop TB Partnership, which is affiliated with the World Health Organization,
affirmed that the study identified weak points in the TB control system. The
Stop TB Partnership packages high-quality TB drugs for approximately $30 per
six-month supply. The drugs are free for poor countries and available at a
reduced cost for middle-income countries. Attaran urged all countries to follow
WHO recommendations, ban sales of TB drugs, and purchase the Stop TB
Partnership drugs.
Poor countries such as Rwanda have
demonstrated they could control TB through “pharmacovigilance.” India, which
has not enforced pharmacovigilance, is now facing a multidrug-resistant TB
epidemic.
The full report, “Combatting
Substandard and Falsified Medicines: A View from Rwanda,” was published online
in the journal PLOS Medicine (2013; doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001476).
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus.
To learn more about The Friends of
AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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