Six arrested in Kampala for selling fake foot and mouth disease vaccines
What you need to know:
- According to the NDA, the suspected counterfeiters were selling 250 milliliter bottle (80 doses) at Shs300,000
Six suspects have been arrested by Police in Kampala agro-inputs hub, Container Village, for counterfeiting and selling fake vaccines of foot and mouth disease, the National Drug Authority (NDA) said Friday.
The vaccines are currently being imported solely by the government and the free distribution is done through the district veterinary officers to affected farmers in areas that are experiencing disease outbreak. Animal farmers have repeatedly decried the vaccine shortage and sometimes poor quality vaccines.
The NDA said the suspects were picked from Njovu Farm Supply and Musajjawaza Farm Store during in a joint operation they did with the police.
"These culprits were found in possession of over 20,000 doses worth more than Shs100m of impure and counterfeited foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccine that were of poor quality and ineffective of providing the desired protection against FMD," the drug regulator said in a statement.
According to the NDA, the suspected counterfeiters were selling 250 milliliter bottle (80 doses) at Shs300,000.
"The counterfeiters were falsifying and branding a product purporting to be from Ministry of Agriculture and distributing it on black market," the NDA revealed.
FMD is a highly contagious viral disease that has been causing huge financial losses to animal farmers in the country. It's an animal disease that can be controlled through vaccination.
The drug regulator in the statement blamed the persistence of the disease in many parts of the country on the impure and counterfeited vaccines. It appealed to the Public to buy drugs from NDA licensed outlets, be vigilant and report suspected drug crimes on toll-free line 0800101999 to fight the vice.
