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A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Sun 26 Sep 2010
Source: CRIEnglish.com, Xinhua News Agency report [edited]
Local drug authorities said Sunday [26 Sep 2010] that 8 people have
been arrested in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for
producing or selling fake rabies vaccinations which caused the death
of a child and threatened more than 1000 others.
"They will be prosecuted for the fake rabies vaccines in Laibin
City," Guangxi's regional drug administration said in a statement.
The statement, which did not name the suspects, said the authorities
discovered 1263 fake rabies shots in a 2-month period from January
[2010]. Some 1214 of the shots had already been [administered]. The
fake shots, found in 13 village hospitals and 20 privately-run
clinics in Xinbin District, Laibin City, were reportedly produced by
an underground workshop and sold for about 330 000 yuan (USD 48 530).
Drug authorities have confiscated all the remaining fake shots. The
vaccine scandal was uncovered in December last year [2009], after the
death of a 4-year-old child. The child died 3 weeks after he was
bitten by a dog in his home village in Xinbin District. The victim's
father said the child received 6 rabies vaccine shots for 700 yuan
[approx USD 103] at the village clinic. "He had a high fever and
couldn't eat or drink after the shots," said Ye.
Local authorities said the boy was the only confirmed victim of the
fake shots so far, adding that there have been no other reports of
the fake shots causing health problems. By June [2010], health
workers in Laibin had located all the patients who had received the
fake shots and had given them a free standard shot.
Rabies has emerged as a major public health issue in China. Last year
[2009] China was 2nd only to India in the number of human deaths
caused by rabies. Around 2000 people per year in China die from rabies.
[Byline: Xu Leiying]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[A similar incident was reported in February 2009 (ProMED-mail
archive number 20090219.0691) in Liaoning province involved the
recall of 320 000 doses of a contaminated rabies vaccine produced by
a single manufacturer. In that incident there were no adverse
consequences. The current incident in Laibin City, Guangxi Zhuang
Autonomous Region, involves the sale of a counterfeit product
manufactured by an unlicenced supplier. Since the incubation period
for rabies virus infection in humans may vary from a few days to
several years, but typically is 1 to 3 months, it is likely that
death of the 4-year-old child 3 weeks after being bitten by a dog can
be attributed to the fake vaccine rather than disease. No other
adverse outcomes have been reported so far.
Guangxi, in southern China, is one of China's 5 minority autonomous
regions. A map of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region can be accessed at
A map of the provinces of China is available at
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of China at
[see also:
2009
----
Rabies - China (04): Ministry report 20090927.3379
Rabies vaccine - China: recall, RFI 20090219.0691
2008
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Announcements (03): Rabies vaccine supply limited - USA (CDC) 20080826.2659
2005
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Rabies, human - China: vaccine failure suspected 20050718.2071
2004
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Rabies vaccine: recall (03) 20040406.0939
Rabies vaccine: recall (02) 20040403.0911
Rabies vaccine: recall 20040402.0909]
...................................sb/cp/mj/mpp
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