It has come to our attention that Health Canada is informing Canadians that the Shandex Sales Group has initiated a voluntary recall of alcohol swabs (listed below) from the Canadian market. The Shandex Sales Group is requesting that wholesalers, pharmacies and other retail locations immediately stop sale of these products. (Link: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2011/2011_02-eng.php)
According to Health Canada, this recall has been initiated due to concerns from a customer about potential contamination of the products with an objectionable organism, namely Bacillus cereus. Some strains of Bacillus cereus are harmful to humans and can cause foodborne illness.
According to Health Canada, they are working with the company and will monitor the recall of these products from the Canadian Market. To date, Health Canada has not received any reports of adverse reactions to these products. All lot numbers of alcohol swabs mentioned below are affected by this recall. The affected products have been sold in boxes of either 100 and/or 200 units. It is important to note that these products may also have been distributed to other retail locations.
| Remedy Rx | Remedy Rx |
|---|---|
| Uniprix (Option+) | Uniprix and PharmaChoice |
| Life Brand | Shoppers Drug Mart |
| Equate | Walmart |
| Personelle | Jean Coutu |
| Rexall | Katz Group stores (Pharma Plus, Medicine Shoppe etc.) See Katz Group website for the list of stores |
While Health Canada mentioned that these products are distributed in Canada, DH is following up on the matter to see if there are other private labels manufactured by Shandex and distributed in Hong Kong. A similar alert has been issued by FDA regarding a voluntary recall of alcohol prep pads, alcohol swabs and alcohol swabsticks manufactured by Triad Group ( Link).
Use of contaminated Alcohol Prep Pads, Alcohol Swabs or Alcohol Swabsticks could lead to life-threatening infections, especially in at risk populations, including immune suppressed and surgical patients. Healthcare providers are encouraged to report to DH any suspected adverse events in patients after using the above products through email: mdco_air@dh.gov.hk or fax: (852) 3157 1286