Phony Anti-Swine flu products on the net, finds FDA

According to the organization, most of the anti flu drugs available online are not legitimate and these may be dangerous if ordered without consultation from a doctor.

“Medicines purchased from websites operating outside the law put consumers at increased risk due to a higher potential that the products will be counterfeit, impure, contaminated, or have too little or too much of the active ingredient,” says FDA Commissioner, Dr Margaret A. Hamburg.

“Drugs like Tamiflu that are in high demand are particularly vulnerable to counterfeiting because buyers may be desperate to acquire the product,” she further adds.

Advertised product different from delivered product, FDA finds

The FDA officials ordered several anti flu medications from the internet and what was delivered was different form what was advertised and they were also not delivered on time which may harm the person who may be in urgent need of treatment.

One of the orders received came in an envelope postmarked from India and it consisted of unlabeled white tablets taped between two pieces of paper. On analysis, the tablets were found to contain ‘talc’ and ‘acetaminophen’.

Other ordered products contained low levels of Tamiflu but these were not licensed for sale in the United States, which means they were not approved and FDA was not aware of most of these.

Margaret Hamburg quips, “Products that are offered for sale online with claims to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat or cure the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus must be carefully evaluated.”

Buy only FDA approved products from licensed pharmaceuticals

The agency also found that apart from selling phony anti swine flu medicines, herbal teas, surgical masks, N95 masks, test kits and many other illegitimate products are being sold online.

According to the agency, “Patients who buy prescription drugs from Web sites operating outside the law are at increased risk of suffering life-threatening adverse events.”

FDA also advises the citizens to buy only FDA approved products and that too from licensed pharmaceutical companies to avoid suffering from any side-effects.

Data provided by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the H1N1 virus is spread over 37 states in the US and about 76 children have died from the virus since April.

It may be noted that the US government has purchased 95 million H1N1 vaccines and more can be made available if and when needed.