The National Drug Authority (NDA) is investigating how eight private hospitals and clinics came to sell counterfeit hepatitis B vaccines in Mbarara, Kampala and Mbale.
As inquiries proceed, the authority has asked the public to remain calm awaiting further advice. Amos Atumanya, the NDA regulatory officer who led the three-week preliminary investigation, told journalists yesterday that the fake vaccines are allegedly manufactured by the ... Read More
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Vaping, which involves puffing on vaporized liquid nicotine using an e-cig or vape pen, seems to be healthier than smoking, a deadly habit that involves inhaling burning tobacco.
And for some adult smokers, vaping may be somewhat helpful for quitting.
But the practice also appears to be creating thousands of new smokers, most of whom are teens whose first exposure to nicotine is via an e-cig or vape pen.
Smoking kills. No other habit has been so strongly tied to death.
In addition to inhaling burned tobacco and tar, smokers breathe in toxic metals like cadmium and beryllium, as well as metallic elements like nickel and chromium.
It’s no surprise, then, that much of the available evidence suggests that vaping, which involves puffing on vaporized liquid nicotine instead of inhaling burned tobacco, is at least somewhat healthier. Reaching for a vape pen instead of a conventional cigarette might also be helpful for some adults who are looking to quit smoking, though the evidence for that is somewhat limited.
... Read MoreThe National Drug Authority (NDA) is investigating how eight private hospitals and clinics came to sell counterfeit hepatitis B vaccines in Mbarara, Kampala and Mbale.
As inquiries proceed, the authority has asked the public to remain calm awaiting further advice. Amos Atumanya, the NDA regulatory officer who led the three-week preliminary investigation, told journalists yesterday that the fake vaccines are allegedly manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
“We got our first complaint from Mbarara. This person got the fake labels on Mbarara street and was able to inform our regional office,” Atumanya told journalists at NDA offices in Kampala. “From that tip, we investigated hepatitis B vaccines used within Mbarara and when we found initial information, we expanded it to other parts of the country.”
More counterfeits were then seized at immunization camps in Mbale central market that were being run by suspicious individuals, and another by Sanyu Medical Centre in Katabi, Entebbe.
... Read More
A leading meat scientist warns the bacteria could have been introduced into factories from another source
“Helping hand”: EFF members invade a supermarket, claiming to be helping them throw away all Rainbow and Enterprise products following the findings on listeriosis. Picture: SUPPLIED
A leading meat scientist has urged the companies implicated in SA’s biggest recorded outbreak of listeriosis to collaborate in efforts to determine how their products became contaminated with deadly listeria bacteria.
More than 180 people have died in the outbreak since January 2017.
The outbreak was traced after scientists from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases found listeria in polony made by both Tiger Brands and RCL Foods at a Soweto crêche, where several children took ill with listeriosis.
“Several of the ingredients used to make polony could potentially harbour listeria, but the bacteria could have been introduced into a factory from another source,” said Louw... Read More