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Scum of the Earth

December 8, 2006

Been meaning to write about this for awhile.

Is there a global threat in your Inbox?  Those spam email messages for fake Viagra are annoying, but they’re also the visible part of a growing trade in human misery.  Over half the commercial drugs in developing countries are counterfeit.  Some of the fakes actually contain a bit of the active ingredient of the real thing.  You take a weak but partially real vaccine, antibiotic, or ARV (anti-retroviral) drug, give it to sick people (usually poor), and you create living human factories for drug-resistant bugs.

AIDS and tuberculosis are a double-threat because one enables the other.  Not too many years ago the world was within shouting distance of completely wiping out TB, but the newest, antibiotic-trained strain of tuberculosis is “virtually untreatable”. The opportunity was lost and now the goal seems more elusive than ever.

When AIDS viruses are exposed to weakened ARV’s, they become immune to it as well.  Outright fake vaccines allow other endemic diseases to reestablish a foothold on populations.  Malaria kills millions of people each year and fake malaria drugs make for stronger malaria.

In addition to the immediate epidemiological consequences, there are political ones as well that make things worse.  Confidence in good medicine is undermined; policy makers lose the signal.  Spurious cures are touted and precious time is lost. 

For a world obssessed with terrorism and oil politics, and caught up in the emergence of new economies, this is a slow-motion disaster building steam.  It won’t stay in the ‘third world’ forever; some bright mind went and invented jet airplanes. 

Several things to consider:

First, this is an international problem, and it’s time to push for better UN leadership and real authority to meet global problems.  We might squirm at the notion of any real global authority but individual nations cannot act to fix this (and many other) problems. In particular, for all its power, the US cannot address this one alone.  Second, no pussy-footing around.  Nations that harbor and tolerate fake drug manufacture and sale may as well be harboring terrorist organizations; actually this is a far larger threat.  This is on a scale that warrants anything from covert action and economic sanctions to cruise missiles if the factory location is known.  It should be a capital crime on a level with war crimes to manufacture fake drugs. 

Third, drug authentication technology needs development NOW.  In terms of lives saved or lost, making sure the pills, injections, or tabs are real, is far more important than even developing the next new drug.  And as an issue of national security, it would be well worth our tax dollars to make sure that drug authentication technology is available all the way into small villages in the middle of nowhere.  It really IS a case of “fighting them there so we don’t fight them here”.

Behind the spam ads for erectile-dysfunction pills and other fake drugs are real people who are far more dangerous than their amusing little emails suggest.  Globalization created this threat, and only a global response can answer it. 

And it wouldn’t hurt to spread the word that buying any medication that way is not only personally risky, but creates a public health hazard too.

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Categories: Geeky, Safety & Health
  1. webs05
    December 10, 2006 at 00:11 | #1
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    If on this topic were as popular as THE! WAR! ON! TERRORI$M!!!

    Maybe something would get done…

  2. Terry
    December 10, 2006 at 19:36 | #2
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    Thanks so much for making me aware of this.  I didn’t know until I read it.

  3. webs05
    December 10, 2006 at 21:35 | #3
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    Damn late night posting, the above should read: “If only…”

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