The Ministry of Health alerted Kenyans on November 22, 2024, about two medications that have been declared dangerous for use.
This comes after the Pharmacy and Poisons Board ordered the recall of two nasal sprays in a public alert statement.
“The Pharmacy and Poisons Board has mandated the recall of Efinox 1% w/v Batch No.82979 and Efinox 0.5% w/v Batch No. 82978 manufactured by Laboratory and Allied Ltd, Kenya,” read the statement.
The Board claimed that there was a mixup in the labeling and packing of the two medicines, resulting in a discrepancy in their potency.
As a result, the medications were judged hazardous for use.
“The recall is being issued due to labeling mix-ups where the correct product was identified, but the wrong strength was applied,” said the board.“ An investigation by Laboratory and Allied Ltd revealed that there was a likely mix-up between 0.5% w/v and 1% w/v strengths of the Efinox Nasal Drops during the labeling and packing process of the above batches.”
It then directed healthcare facilities and pharmacies to stop distributing and issuing the now-flagged batches.Furthermore, it urged the aforementioned organizations to return the nasal medications.
“In light of this, the Board advises all pharmaceutical outlets, healthcare facilities, healthcare professionals, and members of the public to immediately stop the further distribution, sale, issuance, or use of the affected product batches.”
“The products should be returned to the nearest healthcare facility or respective suppliers,” added the statement.
The Board also recommended Kenyans to raise awareness about counterfeit pharmaceuticals and their potentially dangerous side effects.
This new development follows a recent Board audit, which revealed a breach of ethics in supply chain integrity.
The audit found that pharmaceutical distributors were selling medications to unregistered pharmacies.
To fight this threat, plans are being developed to refer 20 instances involving public and private hospitals, as well as individuals, to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
