March 6, 1997
I saw your message posted on March 4 about the above subject. There was a
similar episode of such poisoning in Nigeria in 1991. Elixir paracetamol was
prepared in diethylene glycol instead of the usual propylene glycol. An
unscrupulous merchant had sold diethylene glycol as pharmaceutical raw
material instead of propylene glycol. As a result over 100 children died of
acute renal failure in different parts of the country.
The solution is to empower developing countries to be able to perform quality
control analysis locally. Developed countries should also insist that all
products for export meet the same standards as those for local consumption.
A university professor is going to deliver an inaugural lecture at the
University of Lagos auditorium on March 12 at 5:00 p.m. Nigerian time. The
title of the lecture is "Medication errors and Drug Tragedies: Casebook of a
Nigerian Clinical Pharmacologist/Nephrologist. You or your representative are
invited.
Prof. AF Biola Mabadeje
Department of Pharmacology
College of Medicine, University of Lagos
Box 191, University Post Office
Akoka, Lagos. NIGERIA
Phone/Fax: 234-1-821501
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