 |
| Ebola patient receiving treatment in a hospital |
The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration said on Thursday it has become aware of products being sold
online that fraudulently claim to prevent or treat Ebola.
The FDA's warning comes on the heels
of comments by Nigeria's top health official, Onyebuchi Chukwu, who reportedly
said earlier Thursday that eight Ebola patients in Lagos, the country's
capital, will receive an experimental treatment called nano-silver.
Erica Jefferson, a spokeswoman for
the FDA, said she could not provide any information about the product
referenced by the Nigerians.
The FDA did not specify any products
in its warning.
Silver has been used as an
antibacterial for centuries. Tiny silver particles known as nano-silver have
controversially been incorporated into a variety of consumer products such as
socks and bedding to help block odors caused by bacteria and mold.
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency considers nano-silver a pesticide. Manufacturers of products that
contain it must register them with the agency.
Nano-silver is also sometimes sold
online as a dietary supplement even though Danish researchers found in a recent
study that nano-silver can penetrate and damage cells.
The FDA regulates dietary
supplements and said in its statement that "by law, dietary supplements
cannot claim to prevent or cure disease."
The agency said it had received
consumer complaints about the Ebola claims.
"Individuals promoting these
unapproved and fraudulent products must take immediate action to correct or
remove these claims or face potential FDA action," the agency said.
The Ebola outbreak ravaging West
Africa has claimed 1,069 lives so far. Most have been in Guinea, Sierra Leone
and Liberia. Nigeria has confirmed 10 cases of the disease and four deaths.
Reuter 
No comments:
Post a Comment