This Medical Product Alert relates to four confirmed falsified products: quinine sulphate circulating in Central African Republic and Chad and quinine bisulphate circulating in Uganda. It should be noted that this is the second WHO Medical Product Alert issued on the same batch number of falsified quinine bisulphate circulating in the African region. Please refer to the previous WHO Medical Product Alert N°2/2017 issued 27 July 2017. Quinine bisulphate and quinine sulphate are listed on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines for management of severe malaria. This alert compiles details of four different falsified products that have been discovered at different times and locations over the past year. This repeated occurrence highlights the need for additional vigilance in Central and East Africa for such products that display common characteristics and distribution patterns.
WHO was informed by a non-governmental organization (NGO) that this falsified quinine sulphate was found at patient level in the Central African Republic. At this stage, testing has not yet been conducted. Product details are listed in Table 1 below.