Poor quality drugs for treating malaria, pneumonia, hypertension and other diseases pose “public health emergency,” study says
March / April 2019 | Volume 18, Number 2
Photos by Nico Ranierie/FDA
Poor quality and fake medicines (top
photo) are an urgent threat.
More than a quarter of a million children die each year due to
poor quality and fake medicines, according to a study published in March in the
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. The assessment by a team of experts from the public and private sector concludes that a “pandemic” of falsified and substandard drugs for treating malaria, pneumonia, hypertension and other diseases has become a “public health emergency,” especially in low- and middle-income countries. It cites evidence that up to 155,000 children die every year due to fake malaria drugs alone, and that a similar number die from low-quality or counterfeit antimicrobial drugs prescribed to treat pneumonia. Other common fake drugs include prescription opioids and medicines for heart disease, erectile dysfunction and cancer.
Fogarty senior scientist emeritus Dr. Joel Breman, a co-author on the study, said that fake drugs are often peddled over the internet and sometimes linked to organized crime and terrorist groups. Poor quality drugs cost the global economy an estimated $200 billion per year, Breman said, and contribute to the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance.
More Information
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Falsified and substandard drugs: Stopping the pandemic [Free access], co-authored by Dr Joel Breman, Fogarty senior scientific adviser emeritus
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, March 11, 2019 (online ahead of print) - Related news:
Global 'pandemic' of fake drugs killing children worldwide, report says, featuring Dr. Joel Breman, Fogarty senior scientific adviser emeritus
CNN, March 11, 2019 - Related news:
Fake drugs kill more than 250,000 children a year, doctors warn, featuring Dr. Joel Breman, Fogarty senior scientific adviser emeritus
The Guardian, March 11, 2019 -
Global pandemic of fake medicines poses urgent risk, scientists say
May / Jun 2015 Global Health Matters
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