Poisoned Teething Medicine Kills Dozens of Children
Friday December 19, 2008
CNN is running a news report on the fatal poisoning of more than 30 Nigerian children. The children were given a teething medicine, "My Pikin", which was contaminated with toxic diethylene glycol (antifreeze). Actually, "contaminated" understates the situation, since lab tests found the medicine contained nearly 90 ml of diethylene glycol per 100 ml of solution. The drug is one of many potentially dangeous counterfeit drugs available on the market. The Nigerian Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says most of the counterfeit drugs they encounter come from India and China. Counterfeit drugs are a global problem, not just something seen in Nigeria, partly because it's a very profitable business. America's Centre for Medicines in the Public Interest predicts counterfeit drug sales will be $75 billion in 2010.
Counterfeit drug rings operate internationally, so you should consider yourself at risk of encountering a counterfeit drug no matter where you live. While your local pharmacist takes care to make sure his or her drugs come from the stated manufacturer, you need to be very careful about drugs if you purchase them online. Buy only from licensed pharmacies and compare the packaging and appearance of the drug you receive with your original prescription. If you notice anything unusual, contact your pharmacist before taking the medication.
Comments
This is very sad and scary. I can’t imagine losing a child to such a trivial thing as teething medicine. Hopefully this practice comes to an end.
While perusing Amedeo Avogadro, I happened upon your website claiming the following:
“Avogadro’s number has been experimentally determined to be 6.023×1023 molecules per gram-mole.”
I wish to point out to you the error of your statement. Avogadro’s number pertains to a gram equivalent weight, which defines a “mole.” You cannot use a word which is defining that word. For example, you can’t define “round” as “being round, you know?”
Avogadro’s number represents a mole and vice versa. These numbers would be 29 or 1000 times larger if they were instead an ounce equivalent or a kilogram equivalent weight.
Incidentally, it is unfortunate that you provide absolutely no way to communicate with you privately for the purpose of correcting your website(s).