It has come to our attention from Health Canada that the Merck Canada Inc. has issued a notice to health care practitioners and the Canadian public that PEGETRON® used in the treatment of adult patients with chronic hepatitis C has been co-packaging with a recalled product, namely Triad pads. Merck Canada is advising consumers not to use the alcohol prep pads, labelled ALCO-PREP® Pre-injection cleansing swab, packaged with PEGETRON® REDIPEN®. Consumers are advised to use alternative alcohol prep pads, or a sterile gauze pad and isopropyl alcohol (70%).
(Link: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2011/2011_21-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.
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 Triad 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: http://www.mdco.gov.hk/english/news/news_20110107.html).
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