UAE is free of Paracetamol Hasco B500, Ministry of Health confirms

The UAE is free of Paracetamol Hasco B500, a pain reliever for children, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said on Friday.

''Paracetamol Hasco B500 is not registered with the ministry and has not been officially imported into the country," the ministry added in its statement, warning the public against circulating fake news of unlicensed medicines being sold in UAE pharmacies.

"We have not received any warning from the health department at the League of Arab States or from the Executive Office of the GCC States. Accordingly, we cannot confirm the health risks of this kind of medicine," said Dr. Amin Al Amiri, the Ministry’s Assistant Under-Secretary for Public Health Policy and Licensing and Chairman of the Supreme National Pharmacovigilance Committee.

The ministry, he explained, had received calls and enquiries about Paracetamol Hasco B500, which is being rumoured to contain a deadly virus that causes death within five days. He urged the public not to circulate or deal with such news, which harms the country’s drug system and causes panic and thereby misleads people. He also warned the public against paying heed to rumours of the leakage of unlicensed drugs into the country’s pharmacies.

The ministry requested community members to immediately contact it in case they discover the existence of Paracetamol Hasco B500 in the UAE on the toll-free number 80011111, or via the "Tamini'' service at www.moh.gov.ae/en/Services/Pages/TaminiService.aspx or by contacting any health authority in the UAE.

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