INFERIOR DRUG

Sri Lanka's premier medical agency has recommended immediate withdrawal of a vaccine imported from India and revaccinate over three million children. Doctors say that these children received substandard drugs imported from India. According to the Government Medical Officers' Association, the DPT vaccine used to immunise infants against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough was imported in 1996. The drug was not only sub-standard but was also purchased from a manufacturer not approved by the World Health Organisation.