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The Department of Health (DH) today (December 6) called on members of the public and in particular medical practitioners and pharmacy operators to call its Pharmaceutical Service hotline 2572 2068 if they were approached by people offering unregistered pharmaceutical products or drugs of unknown source.
The appeal was made after a number of group medical practices and private clinics were found to have administered unregistered flu vaccines to members of the public.
The spokesman stressed that pharmaceutical products of unknown source and which had not been registered according to the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (PPO) were potentially harmful in that their safety, efficacy and quality could not be ascertained.
He reiterated that possession and supply of unregistered pharmaceutical products was an offence under the PPO, with the maximum penalties on conviction of a fine of $100 000 and two years' imprisonment.
Investigation by the department have so far revealed that 2,700 doses of unregistered flu vaccines were supplied to group medical practices and private clinics by a trading company in Central last month (November).
Of these, 1,290 doses were seized by the deparetment, 410 doses were claimed to have been discarded by one of the group medical practices concerned, the whereabouts of another 170 doses has yet to be identified, and more than 800 doses may have been administered to members of the public.
"So far 813 people who are believed to have been injected with the vaccines in question were contacted either through the department hotline or the group medical practices concerned. Only 39 of them reported that they had only minor reactions like low grade fever, redness and swelling at the injection site," the spokesman said.
Follow-up investigation by the department is continuing.
Ends/Tuesday, December 6, 2005
Issued at HKT 18:45
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