The sale of fake vials of the anesthetic came to light after a patient who underwent gall stone surgery at a private hospital in Biratnagar regained consciousness just five minutes after being administered with 4 mg of the anesthetic. [break]
The genuine Vacuron that is manufactured by Sun Pharmaceuticals of Gujarat, India, is capable of keeping a patient sedated for 20 minutes.
A vial of the genuine medicine costs Rs 127, while the fake one is being sold for Rs 45 per vial in Biratnagar.
According to sources, the fake vials are brought to Nepal by traders entering Nepal from Bihar, India.
“Most health organizations in Biratnagar use fake Vacuron,” said a doctor. “Sometimes patients regain consciousness in the middle of a surgery,” the doctor added.
Ganesh Tamang, Biratnagar chief of Department of Drug Administration, said, “We have found fake versions of the products of most Indian pharma companies. An investigations will be conducted.”
Suresh Adhikari, chief district officer of Morang, said action will be taken against those selling fake medicine and agencies concerned will be directed to conduct inspection.
A doctor said that until now it was enough just to check whether a medicine has cross its expiry date, but from now that will not be enough as fake medicine is flooding the market.
Dr Narayan Kumar, president of Doctors´ Association, Morang, said it is difficult to identify fake medicine.
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