Cattle farmers worry over unauthorised drug imports

Staff Reporter :
Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) vaccines of cattle are being imported from African countries and being marketed in the country randomly violating the guide lines of World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
Experts apprehended that the African diseases might outbreak in the country and spread to human body due to the vaccine as it is produced and applicable only for some African countries as per the policy.

The market size for medicines used for protecting animal health in Bangladesh is around Tk 3,000 crore. About 70 per cent of the drugs are supplied by local pharmaceutical companies and the remaining 30 per cent depends on imports, according to the Animal Health Companies Association of Bangladesh (AHCAB).

The WOAH has set different vaccine production and use rules for the Africa, Asia, Central Asia, America and Australia regions according to the environment and climate to cure the cattle disease.
Following this, the Bangladesh government imposed banning on import and sale of such kind of drugs in the local market.

A company named Onepharma is importing this vaccine by managing some dishonest officials of the Livestock Department and selling it in the domestic market, it is alleged.
Sources said that Gentech International Limited supplied it to the government, though the vaccine is imported by Onephrama Ltd. Despite, the drug is produced by a Russian cattle drug company named ‘Ariah,’ it is not applicable for Bangladesh according to the WOAH Guide Line, experts said.
Primarily the drug used to import as oral vaccine and latter in 2019, it was changed to injectable. But despite the changes in paper, the vaccine remains a liquid bottled oral and according to the International Drug Policy, oral drugs and injectable formulations are not the same at all.

Under this circumstance, a right body submit a written complain to the Livestock Department for cancelling and banning the vaccine immediately.
The organization claimed that the WOAH has determined what FMD vaccine will be produced for Bangladesh. As per the demand of the Livestock Department of our country, the Asia-1 vaccine is produced in the country and the Animal Drug Administration gives clearance through tender.
But the FMD vaccines imported by Onepharma Limited–Vaccine Pool-4 (O. A. Sat 1.2.3), Pool-5, (O. A. Sat 1, 2) Pool-6 (O, A, Sat 1, 2, 3)-are very dangerous and harmful for the cattle as well as public health, it alleged.

Head of Operation of the Onepharma Ltd Dr Momen Siddique, however, said, “Same vaccine is used for FMD across the world. Virus is not changed due to climate. So, the vaccine works same in all countries and it will be no problem in our country.”
He further said, “Among the veterinary medicines imported to Bangladesh, Onepharma is the most tested. That is why we are working with several projects of the government.”
Md Salah Uddin, Director of the Drug Administration, told The New Nation, “The registration has been given to the company by following the rules. Livestock Department is responsible for scrutinizing whatever the company imports as it has technical team to oversee it.”