Hazardous purified water given with drug

A thick substance floats in this bottle of purified water which is supposed to be mixed with a drug and used by patients.Photo: STAR

A thick substance has been found floating in a bottle of purified water supplied with a medicine called Neofloxin manufactured and marketed by Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
The purified water is provided with a pack of Neofloxin to make a suspension with ciprofloxacin granules.
On January 11, AHM Foysoul, an NGO worker, bought a 60 ml bottle of Neofloxin -- Beximco's brand name for ciprofloxacin -- from Talukder Pharmacy on Dhaka Shishu Hospital premises in the capital.
The batch number mentioned on the bottle is SRJ184 and expiry date October 2010.
HM Foysoul bought the bottle of Neofloxin and Napa Syrup from the pharmacy after a doctor at the Shishu Hospital prescribed those for his son.
"After I opened the pack of Neofloxin, I found a bottle containing granules and a smaller bottle labelled purified water. There were instructions on the pack to mix the granules with the water. When I was about to open the bottle of water, I noticed some sort of 'dirt' floating in it," he said, adding that he did not open the bottle and brought it straightaway to The Daily Star office.
When the representatives of Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd came to know about it, they visited The Daily Star office and sought permission to check the bottle at their factory to see whether it was a counterfeit product and whether the particle is harmful.
On January 18, the quality assurance experts of the pharmaceuticals company thoroughly examined the bottle and retention samples in presence of the customer and the reporter of The Daily Star.
"The particle in the bottle is not harmful," said Mohammad Tahir Siddiqui, executive director (Quality) of the pharmaceuticals company, adding that Methyl Paraben Sodium and Propyl Paraben Sodium were used as preservatives that later turned into a slightly thick visible element.
"Cool temperature or humidity or wrong handling might have caused a micro leakage making the preservatives turn into the thick element," he added.
Ciprofloxacin is a synthetic antibiotic used for the treating a variety of indications, including lower respiratory tract infections (such as pneumonia and acute bronchitis), urinary tract infections, several sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), skin and soft tissue infections, septicemia, legionellosis and anthrax.