CLAIMS that some brands of paracetamol 500 mg tablets contained the ‘machupo’ virus are not true.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Medical Services Dr Tenneth Dalipanda said they have investigated the claims that were widely circulated in an email and found no reported case of these tablets containing the virus.
“The World Health Organization (WHO) has not issued an alert on this product either,” Dr Dalipanda said.
“Machupo’ virus is found only in South America and is spread by the urine and faeces of infected rats,” he added.
“This virus will not be able to survive in the dry environment of a tablet.”
He added that health authorities in a number of countries have also released statements confirming that the contamination rumors are a hoax.
Manager of National Medical Store,William Horoto, had said medicines purchased by the government and available at public clinics and hospitals are safe to use.
“National Medical Store has a number of quality control measures in place to ensure that medicines are safe.
“However be reminded to take care when purchasing medicines from private shops as these may not be purchased against the same quality standards,” Mr Horoto stated.
The National Medical Store manager said that their main suppliers of drugs are British Pharmacopoeia (BP), EU Pharmacopoeia (EP), US Pharmacopoeia (UP) and International Pharmacopoeia (IP).
“We stick to Essential Medicine List which reviews often depend on new diseases or outdated drugs.
“So those pharmacy companies above are our genuine suppliers whilst those with other labels are from different firms,” Mr Horoto said.
By TEDDY KAFO