Counterfeit Medicines May Leave Residue in Food Supply Says U.N.

UN officials are establishing the first pharmaceutical standards for medicines used in treating African farm animals.

Ankole Cattle

Ankole cattle used in trypanosomosis research.
Image courtesy of The International Livestock
Research Institute via Flickr.

UN officials are establishing the first pharmaceutical standards for medicines used in treating African farm animals.

Animal African Trypanosomosis, a disease more commonly known as Nagana, transmitted by blood-sucking insects, affects cattle, sheep, goals, pigs, camels, horses and donkeys. All these animals are vital to farming, either as an aid for cultivation, distribution as well as consumption.

Annually, $4.5 billion dollars worth of economic losses are the result of Nagana, which can be treated effectively. However it is often exacerbated by sub-standard and counterfeit medications sold to farmers, warns the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

But not only do the fake medications result in economic losses, they also help the disease evolve greater immunity to existing, effective medications.

“The use of substandard drugs to treat Nagana not only leaves farm animals inadequately protected from the disease, but also permits the evolution of tougher, drug-resistant strains when insufficient doses are used,” said FAO chief veterinary officer Juan Lubroth, who heads the agency’s Animal Health Service.

Even more worryingly, the fake medications pose a threat to human health, “if chemical residues accumulate in meat or dairy products that enter the food chain,” says Lubroth.

In order to combat these ills, the United Nations has launched an initiative in tandem with the International Federation of Animal Health (IFAH) to establish the first veterinary pharmaceutical standards for Nagana. The new standards will provide a basis to evaluate animal medicines in the market, and allow local agencies to test for regulatory compliance.

By S. Imber