By Ijeoma UKAZU
Experts in the healthcare sector have dismissed a viral false claim, making the rounds that the use of a popular anti-malaria drug ‘P-Alaxin’ was responsible for the death of an individual as it also causes kidney disease.
The experts, who spoke at the ‘Brand Awareness for Improved Therapy’ programme organized by Greenlife Pharmaceuticals Limited, Lagos, noted that the claim was a false alarm targeted at de-marketing the product and should be ignored.
The team of medical experts includes; Prof Arinola Joda of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Biopharmacy, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Dr Samuel Okerinde, a community health enthusiast and immediate past president, Association of Resident Doctors, LUTH; Dr Bowale Abimbola, chief medical director, Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, and Pharm. Lawrence Ekhator, chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, Lagos State.
Prof Joda noted that P-Alaxin is a good anti-malaria brand, known for convenient dosing and very effective as people don’t come down with malaria quickly after using it because it gives post-treatment benefit up to over 60 days, and it is very affordable for the end users.
According to the University don, the information being spread about the product causing kidney disease is false and erroneous, adding that people should discard the false information whenever they get it as it is not only erroneous but is fake in its entirety. She said, “In any instance of the adverse effect that people may experience with any pharma product, they should endeavour to approach the pharmacovigilance unit of NAFDAC to report so that legitimate claim can be analysed.”
Joda also noted that people should not be too quick to forward a viral message. “I call it ‘fast fingers syndrome’, so people should desist from broadcasting a message they are yet to verify so that by the time the truth is established, they can feel happy for not sharing it”, she advised
Also speaking in the same vein, Pharm. Ekhator, frowned at the perpetrators of the fake message, stressing that P-Alaxin has been approved by NAFDAC for malaria treatment in Nigeria, and has remained a trusted brand that he has used and recommended as a professional over the years. “A lot of my clients have attested to the fact that the product is a positive and good brand that helps in the treatment of acute malaria in the country.
According to the community health specialist, malaria is a major global public health issue that is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality in areas where it is endemic, adding that about half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria. “According to the 2021 World Malaria Report, Nigeria had the highest number of global malaria cases 27 per cent of global malaria cases and the highest number of deaths, 32 per cent of global malaria deaths in 2020. The country accounted for an estimated 55.2 per cent of malaria cases in West Africa in 2020. In Nigeria, 97 per cent of the population is at risk”.
On the ‘Danger of Fake News in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Pharm. (Dr) Wilfred Uche Okolie, marketing manager, Greenlife Pharmaceutical Limited, noted that the P-Alaxin hoax was first released in 2019 with a test message from an unknown and faceless source aiming to rubbish the efficacy and of the brand, adding that the message has continued to come back every year with a renewed effort to malign the brand.