WHO assists Vietnam in rare drug supply for botulinum poisoning treatment
VOV.VN - The World Health Organization (WHO) is urgently contacting to find a source of rare drugs to support Vietnam in treating botulinum poisoning cases, according to details given by the Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health.
The Drug Administration of Vietnam revealed that botulism is a rare but life-threatening condition that is primarily caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The poisoning is a very rare occurrence both in Vietnam and around the world.
The main cause is patients being infected with bacterial toxins in poor-quality food or eating poorly preserved foods. Since 2020, there have only been a few cases each year with three cases recently being recorded in Ho Chi Minh City.
Following the cases of botulinum poisoning in the southern city, the Drug Administration of Vietnam has urgently worked alongside the WHO to seek assistance for supply of botulism antitoxin.
Furthermore, the Drug Administration of Vietnam has also asked Cho Ray Hospital to contact import companies and suppliers in order to get more drug supplies.
Most notably, the Ministry of Health has proposed establishing storage centres for rare drugs in socio-economic regions and setting up a mechanism for the expired rare drugs.
The Ministry of Health has also advised people to be cautious by not preserving and using food that has been processed for a long time, to avoid the risk of poisoning in general, and botulinum toxin poisoning in particular.
