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Laboratory’s faulty system exposed
At least 40 samples of medicines declared substandard by the Central Drug Testing Laboratory (CDL), Karachi, have been cleared by the appellate laboratory — National Institute of Health — leaving a big question mark on the credibility of Karachi laboratory, according to some documents.
According to these papers, the federal inspector of drugs in the ministry of health in July 2005 had sent samples from 43 batches of "ferrous fumarade" tablets to the CDL for re-testing after the same were found substandard by the CDL. These tablets were to be supplied by one of the leading manufacturer of Rawalpindi/ Islamabad to the government under the prime minister's programme for primary healthcare and family planning.
The CDL declared that their potency of iron was not within the prescribed limit of 90 to 105 per cent. The manufacturer made a representation to the health ministry, arguing that its product was of standard quality and met all the requirements laid down in the British pharmacopoeia. The ministry referred the samples to the NIH for re-testing.
All the 43 batches re-tested at NIH were found to be in compliance with the requirements of "description, identification, different variations, disintegration time and potency/assay", according to the documents. The batch numbers thus declared of standard quality were 570, 571, 572, 573, 575, 582, 583, 584, 585, 586, 587, 588, 589, 590, 591, 592, 593, 594, 595, 596, 596, 598, 599, 600, 601, 608, 609, 610, 611, 612, 615, 616, 617, 618, 619, 620, 621, 622, 623, 624, 625 and 626.
The source added that the project would address all epidemiological phases of expected influenza outbreaks and prevent possible loss of life and socio-economic disruption by mobilising all national and provincial line departments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the civil society. Emphasis will be laid on components like containment and quarantine, vaccination, emergency response, clinical health services and communication.
Under the plan, the sources said, emergency coordination and response cells would be established, one at the federal level, four in the provincial headquarters and 120 such cells at district level. Purchase of 160,000 doses of anti-viral drugs "Tami flu" and printing of 24,000 guidelines for its administration among affected persons are also part of the programme.
Suspected cases of avian influenza in humans would be investigated jointly by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock; Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organisation.
Large-scale culling of affected poultry and vaccination of birds around the affected areas would be done under the plan, besides introducing bio-safety measures at poultry farms. Active and continued surveillance among the poultry and poultry industry related human personnel will also be done. Hospital control measures will also be taken including isolation of cases of severe respiratory illness.
The World Health Organisation in a report said that a huge shortage of medical staff in the developing world was seriously undermining the international community's efforts to combat major diseases. Marking the World Health Day, the report said that poor countries across Asia and Africa were in an urgent need of more than two million doctors and nurses to effectively deal with diseases like tuberculosis, malaria and Aids.
Meanwhile, the health ministry also arranged a walk in connection with the World Health Day in Islamabad in which a large number of people from all walks of life took part. Students, volunteers, officials of NGOs, doctors, paramedical and health ministry's officials participated in the walk that culminated near Parliament House.
Scholars from the country and abroad read their papers at five different lecture halls at the Bahauddin Zakariya University. — Agencies
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