International News Uganda Suspends Sales of Antiretroviral Drugs at Pharmacies Over Reports of Counterfeit Drug SalesAugust 3, 2004 Uganda's director general of health services has directed the country's National Drug Authority to suspend antiretroviral drugs sales on the open market following reports that some doctors have been selling counterfeit drugs to patients, Xinhua News Agency reports (Xinhua News Agency, 8/1). Peter Mugyenyi, director of the country's Joint Clinical Research Centre, on Thursday at a parliamentary committee meeting on HIV/AIDS said that some people have been selling the counterfeit drugs in containers resembling those used to sell authentic antiretrovirals, Uganda's New Vision reports (Ngatya, New Vision, 7/31). Director-General of Health Services Francis Omaswa said that the two pharmacies that had been licensed to sell the drugs would be ordered to stop doing so until guidelines on the drugs were issued. In the meantime, patients could obtain antiretrovirals at 54 government-accredited centers throughout the country, Omaswa said (Xinhua News Agency, 8/1). Mugyenyi also said that some health workers have been giving incorrect instructions for use of the drugs, which could lead to the development of drug-resistant HIV strains. "Adherence is the key. If you are a doctor and not yet exposed to ARV management, do not administer it," Mugyenyi said. JCRC plans to implement new programs to train health workers, including midwives, to administer the drugs (New Vision, 7/31).
Antiretroviral Drug Program Back to other news for August 3, 2004
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