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Watchdog publishes reminder on herbal drug

By Xin Dingding (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-18 10:03

The drug safety watchdog has renewed its call to all local health authorities to make sure the herbal drug, ciwujia, has been taken off the market.

The State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said on its website on Thursday the recheck "should focus on rural areas".

The drug is produced by Wandashan Pharmaceutical Company in northeastern Heilongjiang province.

Ciwujia extracted from a type of Siberian ginseng, has claimed the lives of three people in Yunnan province.

Related readings:  Contamination blamed for herbal injections in relation to deaths  China stops sales of suspected herbal injection  Herbal remedy fails tests in probe on deaths  Herbal injections recalled after three deaths

Its injections are often used to treat thrombosis caused by a weak liver and kidneys. It is also believed to be helpful in treating coronary heart disease, nervous exhaustion and menopausal problems.

The No 4 People's Hospital of Honghe autonomous prefecture of Hani and Yi ethnic groups in Yunnan, reported that six people experienced adverse reactions after receiving a ciwujia injection on Oct 6.

Their symptoms included vomiting and unconsciousness. Three died and the others are still being treated in hospital.

The Ministry of Health and the SFDA ordered the suspension of ciwujia injections on Oct 7, and sent a medical team to investigate.

On Tuesday, the ministry and the SFDA told a press conference that tests on two batches of the herbal injections showed they were "tainted by bacteria".

But how the contamination took place is still not known, and investigations are continuing, they said.

So far, two batches of contaminated ciwujia have been traced.

They comprised 47,930 bottles, which were sold to 53 drug stores and 92 hospitals in 16 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

By Oct 11, 4,547 bottles had either been recalled or confiscated, while the rest had already been used, the SFDA said.

Wandashan Pharmaceutical has suspended production, pending the outcome of the investigations.