National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC has urged Nigerians to beware of fake chloroquine phosphate 250mg tablets currently in circulation in the country.

The Director-General of the agency, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye revealed this in a recent statement.

According to her, NAFDAC was recently notified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) of the circulation of the tablets in Cameroon and it has now reached Nigeria.

She added that the falsified chloroquine phosphate 250mg tablets were manufactured by Jiangsu pharmaceutical Inc, Astral pharmaceutical New Bhupalpura, China, and using it can lead to death.

Her words, “The falsified chloroquine phosphate 250mg tablets were manufactured by Jiangsu pharmaceutical Inc, Astral pharmaceutical New Bhupalpura, China.

“The tablets manufactured by these companies have no Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) and are in packs of 1000 tablets.

“The use of the falsified chloroquine phosphate 250mg tablets may result in treatment failure and could even cause death,”

“The Astral pharmaceuticals, New Bhupalpura, China is labelled with fake NAFDAC registration No. 0587612 and advised the general public to be aware of this drug.

“All importers, wholesalers, and retailers are hereby cautioned to desist from illegal importation, distribution, and sale of falsified chloroquine phosphate 250mg tablets.

“NAFDAC has strengthened its surveillance in all ports of entry to prevent illegal importation of the falsified chloroquine phosphate 250mg tablets.

“The agency has also heightened surveillance in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to prevent distribution and sale of this falsified drug.

“Healthcare providers and other members of the public are advised to be vigilant and contact the nearest NAFDAC office with any information on the falsified chloroquine.”