Drug alert to Schools and Colleges: Telangana withdraws Albendazole deworming tablets

Newsmeter Network

Hyderabad : Telangana Medical and health department on Wednesday recalled deworming drug Albendazole supplied to several districts of the State to school and college going kids as the Drug Control Administration found that the batch is 'Not of Standard Quality Drug'.
Telangana State Medical Services & Infrastructure Development Corporation in an advisory to all district medical officers asked to stop the use immediately.

National Deworming Programme is to be launched on August 8 on Thursday for which Albendazole tablets400 mg chewable were supplied. Batch Number 9659 has been declared as Not of Standard Quality by Drug Control Lab of Telangana Drug Control Administration. All the medical officers are instructed not to launch the program and not to issue or use the batch number 9659 supplied under NDD program and also inform all the schools, Anganwadi centers, primary schools, upper primary schools, high schools, junior colleges," said medical and health officials in the orders.
"Usage has to stop and tablets to recollected from schools which were distributed and shall be handed over the stores of district health authorities,"
Batch numbers 9658 and 9665 are also recalled for not being of standard quality.
Health officials said the three batches have failed to qualify the dissolution test. "As they are of no standards they will not be 100% effective. There is no point in conducting a low-quality NDD round.
The districts to which these batches supplied are Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Khammam, Kothagudem, Karimanagar Jagithyal, Peddapally, Sircilla, Mahabubnagar, Gadwal, Nagakurnnol, Narayanpet, and Wanaparthy
Albendazole is used to treat tapeworm infections.