Bad vaccines may still be on the shelves

10:29, April 03, 2010      
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Two companies produced low quality rabies serums in 2008
China will step up the monitoring of a faulty rabies vaccine that has been recalled but may still be on the market, officials from the country's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said on Friday.
Although the vaccine was recalled and production shut down late last year, China's lax regulatory environment means doses of the vaccine may still be on the shelves, officials said.
Administration officials also said they are watching for any reactions in people who took the vaccine last year.
The rabies vaccine problems are the latest in a series of quality concerns in China in recent years, including tainted infant formula and other milk products that sickened children.
More than 200,000 units of the rabies vaccine manufactured by Jiangsu Ealong Biotech Co and Hebei Bioforwell Co were recalled because they did not meet national quality standards, the administration said on its website.
Officials made the move following a four-month investigation after its first announcement last December that seven batches, or a total of 215,800 units of rabies vaccine produced by Jiangsu Ealong Biotech Company and Hebei Bioforwell Company from July to October 2008 had quality problems.
The administration said the Jiangsu Ealong Biotech Company had resorted to deception when producing the rabies vaccines.
The company escaped supervision by related departments, causing the unqualified vaccine products to come into the market. Some of the company's personnel are suspected of committing criminal offenses, and local police are investigating.
Meanwhile, an illegal operation was found in the Hebei Bioforwell Company, and its vaccines products also failed to meet the national standard. But no criminal activity was found in the company.
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