( A New Zealand scientist warned Wednesda...)New Zealand Scientist Warns On Fake Drugs,Health

A New Zealand scientist warned Wednesday of sophisticated Asian-based rackets producing billions of fake medicines that kill thousands of people every year//.Dallas Mildenhall said some of the counterfeit pills not only lacked the proper ingredients to treat illnesses such as malaria but contained carcinogens, solvents and even remains of insects.

Mildenhall, who has been working for the last 18 months with Interpol to track down illegal drug manufacturers in Asia, said that most were based in border areas between China, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar.

He said two operations in China had been shut down after forensic analysis of fake tablets.

"The counterfeiting is so good that it's impossible to tell the fake pills and packaging apart from the genuine product, even with close visual inspection," said Mildenhall, who works for GNS Science at Lower Hutt near Wellington.

"Every security measure taken by the genuine manufacturers, such as holograms on the packaging and serial numbers on the blister packs, has been successfully copied by the counterfeiters."

Mildenhall said the main pharmaceutical being faked was an anti-malaria agent called Artesunate. He said the bogus drugs were mainly sold in Asia and Africa, but a wide range of counterfeit drugs was being produced and turning up in many countries via the internet.

GNS Science described Mildenhall as one of the world's top forensic palynologists, a scientist who studies pollen and spores.

He said while working for Interpol, he analysed fake pills that contained the pollen of about 30 species of trees and herbs found in areas along the Chinese-Vietnam border.

Other substances found in the pills included dust, animal and human hair, insect remains, charcoal and carbon from motor vehicle exhausts.

"These fake drugs are causing thousands of deaths in Southeast Asia each year," Mildenhall said, adding they had started app
'"/>




Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. A Cheap Device to Stop Snoring from New Zealand
2. New Zealand Researchers Call For Tobacco-Free Society
3. Bird flu may cause a blackout in New Zealand
4. Clinical Trials Of New Anti-Cancer Drug To Be Initiated In New Zealand
5. New Zealand Prepares Itself For Pandemic
6. Productivity in New Zealand hit by Absenteeism through Health Reasons
7. Heart Disease Increasing At An Alarming Rate In New Zealand
8. Diabetes, The Silent Killer of New Zealand
9. Doctors In New Zealand Warns Against Using Ayurveda Medicines
10. New Zealand To Issue Graphic Warnings In Cigarette Packs
11. Indian Students in New Zealand Feel Insecure