The Pharmacy and Poisons Board has warned the public about several medicines that have been found to be of poor quality and should not be used, sold, or distributed. These include three batches of paracetamol 1000mg/100ml injections, one batch of Sprazo (Esomeprazole 40mg), one batch of Augmentin 1G, and two batches of Augmentin 625 MG. According to the board, these products have failed to meet safety and quality standards and must be taken off the market immediately.
All of the affected paracetamol injections were manufactured in India by KamlaAmrut Pharmaceutical. The specific products and batches include Lumidol Injection with batch numbers CM4594007, CM4594008, and CM4594009, Blink Injection with batch numbers CS4594005 and CS4594004, and Paragen Injection with batch number K4290027.
The board’s CEO, Fred Siyoi, said in a statement that the paracetamol injections had changed colour, which suggested a quality problem and raised serious health concerns.In addition, the board recalled a batch of S-Prazo (Esomeprazole 40mg), a medicine used to treat ulcers and stomach acid, after it was found to contain the wrong drug.
A strip of Levofloxacin 500mg, which is an antibiotic, was discovered in a pack that was supposed to only contain Esomeprazole 40mg capsules. The affected batch number is SPZ404 and it was produced by Medico Remedies Pharmaceutical in India. This kind of product mix-up is dangerous and could easily harm patients who take the wrong medicine unknowingly.
The Pharmacy and Poisons Board also raised the alarm about falsified Augmentin medications in the market. Augmentin is a type of antibiotic used to treat infections. The board listed Augmentin 1G with batch number SHS2 and Augmentin 625MG with batch numbers 8X3K and EU7C as fake and unfit for use. They believe these drugs were falsified and are circulating in the Kenyan market without proper approval or safety checks.
Fred Siyoi urged all healthcare providers, chemists, hospitals, and members of the public to stop using, selling, or giving out any of the drugs from the affected batches.
He recommended that anyone who already has these medications should return them to the nearest health centre or pharmacy as soon as possible. He also encouraged people to stay alert and report any side effects or suspected cases of fake or substandard drugs to the board or a health worker.
This warning from the board comes just a few weeks after they cleared another medicine, Mefnac Oral Suspension, which had been under investigation for four months.
Although that medicine was eventually declared safe, the latest warnings show that the safety of medicine in the market remains a serious issue. The public is now being asked to help by checking their medicine and being careful about what they buy or use.