Health ministry identifies distributors of recalled medicines

The Ministry identified Woodlands Hospital; Distribution Services Limited; Trading and Distribution Inc and Best Buy Pharmacy as the sources of the recalled medicines, noting that many shops and pharmacies around the country may have these products.

As a result, the ministry has instructed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to visit the pharmacies and shops to ensure these products are pulled.

Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy said in a statement yesterday that the FDA has contacted the key sources for a list where the recalled products might have been distributed.

He said that a health care provider should be consulted if a child had recently taken any of the recalled products and was experiencing unexpected symptoms.

Recently, McNeil Con-sumer Health Care in the United States, in consultation with the Food & Drugs Administration (FDA), voluntarily recalled the medicines, including Tylenol, Tylenol Plus, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl.

The recall was reportedly initiated because some of the products may not have met the required quality standard. Some of the products are reported to contain a higher concentration of active ingredients than is specified, while others may contain inactive ingredients that do not meet the testing requirements.

The complete list of the products recalled numbers close to fifty bottles of children and infant’s medicines.

Subsequent to this, Food and Drug Department Director Marilyn Collins said while the potential for serious medical problems is remote, consumers should desist from using the medicines as a precaution. Collins, in an advisory, called on importers, distributors, wholesalers, pharmacy proprietors, patent shop proprietors, health care providers and consumers to make contact with the department on telephone number 222-8857 or at the IAST Building, University of Guyana, Turkeyen Campus.

The medicines recalled were distributed in the US; Canada; Dominican Rep-ublic; Dubai; Fiji; Guam; Jamaica; Puerto Rico; Panama; Trinidad and Tobago and Kuwait.