C T Online Desk: Health Minister Dr Samanta Lal Sen has ordered to carry out drives across Bangladesh against fake anesthesia drugs.
The order was given following the recovery of the banned anesthesia drug halothane from a pharmacy in front of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) during a raid by a mobile court of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
Dr Samanta Lal Sen said in a press conference in the conference room of the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) that this drive against fake drugs was conducted on Saturday.
He said that the executive magistrate of RAB conducted a raid on Bepari Pharmacy in front of DMCH. A person involved in the sale of fake halothane was arrested in the drive.
Based on his information, a large quantity of the drug was recovered during raids in the Mitford area and a pharmacy in Aziz Supermarket.
The health minister also said: “As per the advice of the Society of Anesthesiologists, we have issued a circular to overcome the crisis. This halothane cannot be used. It is forbidden. Still, it is being sold in the market. The one who is selling it is guilty as well as the doctor who is using it.”
Giving a clear message in this regard, the minister said: “I will take action against whoever uses it, wherever I find it, in whichever hospital I find it, whichever doctor I find. No doctor in Bangladesh has the authority to use drugs that are prohibited. I want to inform everyone that I will continue this drive.”
He also said: “We have had a few accidents recently. An investigation of those incidents found this to be the case for this anesthesia drug. So it is not at all acceptable that a child or anyone’s life should end like this. I have directed the DG Drug to conduct raids across the country.”
In the meeting, DGDA officials said that Halothane production has been stopped in the country since April last year. ACI was the only authorized company to manufacture it. A drug is still available on the market a year after production has been discontinued.
“Whenever we had doubts after two or three accidents, we took samples from the market and tested them. The test showed that this medicine is adulterated. As adulteration was found, we asked everyone to use alternative good medicine immediately,” said the official.
An agent called “halothane” is used to anesthetize the patient before surgery. Recently, the issue of using this fake medicine came to the fore when some patients died due to anesthesia. It was then banned.
On March 27, the ministry issued an instruction saying that recently several deaths have occurred during the administration of anesthesia to patients during surgery in various hospitals.
Following this, the ministry has given instructions to prevent patient death and sudden complications and to ensure the quality of drugs used in anesthesia.
