ZCZC
BFF-28
INDIA-CHINA-HEALTH-POLITICS-VACCINE
India bans vaccine imports from tainted China company
NEW DELHI, Aug 1, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – India has banned the import of a rabies
vaccine from a Chinese manufacturer embroiled in a safety scandal, the head
of India’s drug regulator told a newspaper in comments published Wednesday.
“The vaccine is being used in India, but we don’t have the exact details
of the total number of units imported or where they have been distributed,”
S. Eswara Reddy told the Hindustan Times daily.
“I have asked my staff to prepare a detailed information report on its
import and distribution,” he was quoted as saying in the interview.
“Once we get the information, we will ask for a recall of the vaccine from
market. But until then, there is a blanket ban on its import.”
Rabies kills an estimated 20,000 people in India every year, according to
the government’s National Rabies Control Programme.
China’s latest product-safety scare emerged more than a week ago with news
that Changchun Changsheng Biotechnology had fabricated records and was
ordered to cease production of rabies vaccines.
The Chinese government, which has also announced nationwide inspections of
vaccine production sites, has said the problematic vaccine did not leave
Changsheng’s factory and was not put up for sale.
Changsheng’s vaccine for diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus (DPT) had also
failed to meet quality standards, but 250,000 doses were nonetheless sold
last year.
China is regularly hit by scandals involving unsafe food, drugs or other
products despite repeated official promises to root out the corruption and
shoddy manufacturing that is usually blamed.
BSS/AFP/MR/ 1200 hrs