2020: Fake antimalarial tablets lacking quinine circulating in West and Central Africa

During routine drug quality testing by the DIFAEM Minilab working group, six counterfeit quinine batches were detected in three different countries: Cameroon, Nigeria and the Chad. These findings triggered off a WHO medical product alert. The fraudulent use of the outdated WHO Essential Drugs Programme logo may create a false sense of product quality. However, the results of the investigations proved that these batches were completely lacking quinine. Quinine is a medicine used in the management of severe malaria infections. Fake and poor-quality quinine tablets are treating malaria patients incorrectly resulting in prolonged suffering or even death.

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