Health Canada warns people not to buy unauthorized products to fight H1N1 flu

Federal authorities are warning Canadians not to buy unauthorized products from the Internet or other sources that claim to fight the H1N1 virus.  The Competition Bureau and Health Canada issued a statement Wednesday saying that only three products are authorized for use against the virus: the vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline called Arepanrix, which is available at flu clinics and doctors’ offices, and the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza.

“Taking unapproved or counterfeit drugs could pose serious risks to health,” the advisory says.  “These products may contain ingredients not listed on the label or dangerous additives, and could cause serious side effects.”

The warning says vaccines should only come from a qualified health care provider, and antivirals should only be purchased with a prescription from a health care practitioner who has examined the patient.

The advisory says there are legitimate Canadian Internet pharmacies, but consumers need to be aware of the risks associated with buying drugs online.

Health Canada says it will monitor the Internet and take action against websites selling unauthorized products for the treatment or prevention of the H1N1 flu virus, or any other health condition.

200,000 doses of the unadjuvanted H1N1 vaccine called Panvax have also been imported from Australia for use in pregnant women.

30 million mosquito nets for Nigeria

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in its largest-ever malaria initiative, will provide 30 million long-lasting treated mosquito nets to Nigeria.  This initiative will provide the African nation with half the nets needed to cover its entire population.

The Global Fund’s “unprecedented commitment to Nigeria, which bears one quarter of the global malaria burden, will protect millions of people from malaria and save over 100,000 lives,” said Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria.

Halting the incidence of malaria is one of the many health-related targets that make up the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the pledges world leaders made to try to slash poverty, hunger, preventable illness and a host of other socio-economic ills by 2015.

UN Report: reducing 5 key health risks could boost global life expectancy by 5 years

Addressing five critical risk factors – underweight childhood, unsafe sex, alcohol use, lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene, and high blood pressure – could add almost five years to global life expectancy, according to a new United Nations report.

These five factors are responsible for one quarter of the 60 million deaths estimated to occur annually, said the UN World Health Organization (WHO), which published “Global Health Risks.”

A health risk is defined in the report as “a factor that raises the probability of adverse health outcomes.” It looked at 24 of them which are a mixture of environmental, behavioural and physiological factors – such as air pollution, tobacco use and poor nutrition – and estimated their effects on deaths, diseases and injuries by region, age, sex and country income for the year 2004.

“Understanding the relative importance of health risk factors helps governments to figure out which health policies they want to pursue,” said Colin Mathers, Coordinator for Mortality and Burden of Disease at WHO.

UN Secretary-General urges global response to combat fake medicines

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged collective action to protect people from falling victim to the “insidious and illicit” trade in counterfeit medicines, a problem affecting all countries but which hits the poor particularly hard.

“We must join forces to fight this global crime for the sake of international public health,” Mr. Ban told the “Call of Cotonou” meeting held in Benin on the trafficking of counterfeit medicines.

The initiative is the brainchild of former French president Jacques Chirac, and is intended to be the first step of a global campaign aimed at raising awareness of the problem and persuading governments to impose tougher penalties and improve routine testing of medications.

Mr. Ban added that individuals are not the only ones who suffer, noting that counterfeit medical products undermine the credibility of health systems, waste resources and diminish confidence in the authorities responsible for public safety.

The problem is pervasive, affecting nearly all countries, but developing countries, which often lack the capacity to stop counterfeit products from entering markets, are hit hardest, said the Secretary-General.

Noting that organized counterfeiters operate through international networks, Mr. Ban emphasized that only a global response can stop them. He pledged UN support to international agencies, drug and law enforcement bodies, the pharmaceutical industry, health professionals and consumer groups to address this problem.

TIME: The Trade in Counterfeit Medicines

TIME Magazine recently published an interesting article on the trade in counterfeit medicines and an initiative fostered by former French President Jacques Chirac to combat this epidemic.  The proposed Cotonou declaration would be the first step of a worldwide campaign aimed at raising awareness of the problem and persuading governments to impose tougher penalties and improve routine testing of medications. The larger goal is to establish an international convention on counterfeit drugs.  Read the full article below:

How To Stop The Counterfeit-Medicine Drugs Trade

The next time you’re tempted to buy Viagra, Lipitor or some other medication online, ponder this: there’s a high likelihood that what you buy will be fake. The pill or vaccine may contain a much smaller dosage than stated, or it may lack any active ingredient whatsoever. Worst of all, it could be toxic. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 50% of drugs sold online have either been falsified or altered in some way. And Internet sales are just the tip of a much bigger problem. Falsified medicines are especially prevalent in developing countries; the WHO estimates that up to 30% of drugs sold in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America are fake, including ones used to fight diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.

Google Flu Trends tracks real-time spread of influenza

Google Flu Trends, a flu-tracking Web tool, has expanded to cover Canada and 16 other countries.  First launched in the United States last November, Mexico was added in April and in Australia & New Zealand in June.

Google Flu Trends gathers data from the company’s search engine and analyzes it to create a near real-time picture of the level of influenza infection in a given area.  According to Google, Web users often turn to the Internet as a first source of information about signs and symptoms of influenza when they begin feeling sick.  The charitable arm of Google developed Flu Trends to provide public health agencies with a new means of tracking trends during flu season as a way of preventing outbreaks.

Google Flu Trends - United States

Before Google first launched the service in the United States last fall, the company’s engineers realized that when they compared their own data with that of the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, distinct similarities were found between the frequency of specific search terms and the number of patients in an area suffering flu-like symptoms in a given week.

The countries currently covered by Google Flu Trends include:

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Hungary
• Japan
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Russia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Ukraine
• United States

Counterfeit medicines in China

An interesting article from the Canadian Medical Association Journal about the production and dangers of counterfeit medicines, with a specific focus on China.

China’s booming counterfeit medicine trade

It was a cringe-worthy moment for China when 600 000 counterfeit antimalarial tablets were intercepted by the Nigerian government in June. Produced and shipped from China, they bore an unexpected label — ”Made in India.” Even the fakes were being faked. It was a new low.

Many things are faked here — from cheap Gucci sunglasses to iPhones. Drugs are no exception. Medicine counterfeiters in China have the dubious honor of being among the worst offenders in the counterfeit drug trade. Often stuffed with chalk, flour or pollen, the pills are passed off as genuine medications. The drug counterfeiters are so skilled that even the holograms on the packages are copied and faked. It’s a trade which preys upon poorer countries, such as Nigeria, that lack the funds to set up strict regulation and the ability to purchase higher quality drugs.

“China, along with India, is responsible for the vast majority of the fakes making it to the international market,” says Roger Bate, an economist who researches health policy and author of Making a Killing: The Deadly Implications of the Counterfeit Drug Trade.

UN Report: 40% global increase in access to HIV treatment within the last year

Over 4 million people are now receiving treatment for HIV, marking a nearly 40 per cent jump from the previous year according to a new United Nations report.

The new study – produced jointly by the UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) – said that the 4 million figure at the end of 2008 represents a 10-fold increase over five years.

Despite the “tremendous progress” in responding to HIV/AIDS, “we need to do more,” said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan.

“Prevention services fail to reach many in need,” she added. “Governments and international partners must accelerate their efforts to achieve universal access to treatment.”

Nearly half of the 9.5 million people in low- and middle-income countries needed antiretroviral therapy are now receiving, with the fastest progress being seen in sub-Saharan Africa, where two-thirds of all HIV infections occur.

Generic medicines are cheap, but are they safe?

The June issue of SELF Magazine featured an interesting article on generic medicines.  While generics are certainly an important part of the healthcare industry, the article raises some important issues.

Bad bargain

All of us want cheaper medicine—but not if it costs us our health. Troubling reactions and a series of recalls are making some doctors wonder, Are generic drugs as safe as the FDA says they are? SELF investigates.

Global cooperation crucial to achieving MDGs, nations tell UN

Meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight ambitious anti-poverty targets agreed on by world leaders, by their 2015 deadline will require concert global cooperation, nations have told the General Assembly’s high-level annual debate.

Norway pointed out that the financial crisis has pushed millions into poverty. “Loss of income is placing public policies at perilous risk, potentially undermining services on which the poorest and weakest depend the most, such as health and education,” said Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

The international community, said Denmark’s ambassador to the United Nations, must assist the world’s poorest in mitigating the effects of the global recession as well as to achieve development aims.

The lack of progress in improving maternal health is “the most disgraceful underachievement” to date, said Mr. Støre.  “Strengthening health services is key for reducing mother and child mortality, and is also a vital element in realizing the rights of women and children.”