|
|
|||
|
|||
|
|
China Sold Counterfeit Diabetes Tests to U.S. Sylvia Hubbard An at-home diabetes test used by 10 million Americans to measure blood sugar levels was counterfeited by the Chinese and sold to unsuspecting Americans and Canadians. When fake copies of the One Touch Test Strip sold by Johnson & Johnson's LifeScan unit were discovered last September, a nationwide consumer alert was issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but the link to China wasn't disclosed. Johnson & Johnson learned of the fake test strips when patients complained of inaccurate test results. After launching their own investigation, they tracked the defective tests to China. "Growth in counterfeit medicines and devices is probably the biggest health threat besides infectious disease," said Peter Pitts, formerly an FDA official who investigated fake drugs, and is currently the director of the Center for Medicines in the Public Interest in New York. The fake test strips have been found in at least thirty-five states and in numerous countries world-wide. Diabetic test strips are a tempting target for counterfeiters since they sell for about a dollar a strip and can cost diabetics up to $200 a month. But accurate testing is essential since diabetics use the results to judge the amount of insulin they need to keep their sugar levels even. Too much, or too little, insulin can be dangerous and have deadly results.
© NewsMax 2007. All rights reserved.
Editor's note:
Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Print Page 
Forward Page 
|
| All Rights Reserved © 2012 NewsMax.Com |