The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) has ordered the recall of several anti-hypertensive medicines containing Valsartan.
MOHAP explained that Valsartan, which is manufactured by Chinese company Zhejiang Huahai Pharmaceutical, was detected to have been contaminated with N-Nitrosodimethylamine, NDMA, a chemical that might lead to cancer.
“This recall is a precautionary measure taken by the ministry following the report issued by the European Medicines Agency indicating the detection of a contamination of the active ingredient with N-Nitrosodimethylamine, NDMA, a chemical that might lead to cancer. Valsartan is a medicine used for the treatment of hypertension to prevent related cardiovascular complications,” the ministry said in a statement.
The order, which has been sent to all directors of the medical districts, directors of public and private hospitals, doctors, pharmacists and assistant pharmacists, as well as directors of government and private pharmacies, contains the list of the medicines affected by the recall.
Doctors and practitioners have been instructed to stop prescribing the medicines included in the list while distributors were told to quarantine all affected products in their warehouses.
Patients, meanwhile, are advised to not discontinue use of the medicine unless they consult with the doctor to prescribe other alternatives registered with the ministry.
How does it affect Filipinos?
Hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and stroke, are among the main causes of death among OFWs in the UAE, specifically in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes attributed the deaths to the unhealthy lifestyle of OFWs in the Gulf state.
“Obviously it shows the kind of lifestyle of the Filipinos here, what food they eat, their daily schedules, their intake perhaps of alcohol, fatty foods, or de lata (canned goods) for example – so it becomes endemic to the Filipino diet especially since ours is a very rice-based, carbohydrate-based one.” said Cortes told The Filipino Times.
Dr. Sally Ismail Mohammed ElDemiry, General Practitioner at First Global Clinic, Abu Dhabi, added that Filipinos should exercise regularly while eating healthy food.
“Although heredity is not ruled out as a causative factor, these diseases are mainly related to the nature of the lifestyle. Also, consumption of food containing high-protein plus the lack of performing regular exercises play a role in increasing the prevalence rate of these diseases,” ElDemiry said.
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