Investigators have seized hundreds of fake digital thermometers amid fears inaccurate readings could pose a serious threat to small children with meningitis.
More than 400 cheap imitations were collected following raids in Harrow and Oxford by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), The Telegraph reported. Bogus digital thermometers are often sold online for just 99p and can seriously endanger health, particularly among those with potentially killer illnesses.
The MHRA launched an investigation after the parents of a young leukaemia sufferer were forced to rush their child to hospital for urgent care despite an apparently normal temperature reading. The child, in fact, had a high temperature which was not picked up by the thermometer they bought on the internet. The raids form part of a nationwide operation to prevent unapproved medical devices being sold online.
Dr Nicola Lennard, deputy clinical director at the MHRA, said: “Inaccurate readings from cheap, fake thermometers could result in a delay to a child getting the medical treatment they need and it is vital that people do not buy or use cheap, unapproved medical devices. The MHRA is working with internet sites to ensure that fake medical devices are not sold to people and we urge the public to report faulty medical devices.”
The MHRA has seized a number of other fake medical devices from locations around the UK as part of its investigation. The agency is working to prevent the sale of unapproved devices. It is looking into how such products were supplied on the UK market. The fake thermometers have no recognised brand name and often lack the requisite safety markings, warnings and instructions for use. They can be identified by missing details such as an absence of a batch identification number, no CE mark to prove the item meets European standards and no four-digit identification number to show it has been through the appropriate safety assessment.
Seven outlaws arrested: Islamabad police have arrested seven persons from different areas of the city and recovered 24 wine bottles, weapons and looted items from their possession, a police spokesman said on Friday. Sub Inspector Muneer Hussain from Anti-Car Lifting Cell arrested a bootlegger during checking and recovered 24 wine bottles from him. ASI Aurangzeb from Sihala police arrested two thieves Adeel, Arsahd and recovered stolen items worth Rs 290,000 from their possession. ASI Tariq Mehmud arrested two other thieves Lal Muhammad and Ahmed besides recovering stolen items from them. ASI Khalid Mehmud from Industrial area police arrested an accused Ishfaq for having a 30-bore pistol. Cases have been registered against these nabbed persons and further investigation is underway.
M-4 construction to help ease traffic load on GT Road: The Faisalabad-Multan Motorway (M-4), planned under the National Trade Corridor NTC programme with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, will ease traffic load on Great Trunk Road (N5), the economic lifeline of the country.
A source in the National Highway Authority (NHA) told APP on Friday that the construction of 241 km M-4 would reduce distance between Multan and Pindi Bhattian, result in huge savings in fuel and vehicle operating cost and open new avenues for the development of the area during the construction phase.
The source said that the project had been divided into sections for speedy execution, which include Faisalabad-Gojra (58km), Gojra-Shorkot (62Km), Shorkot-Khanewal (64 Km) and Khanewal-Multan (57 Km). He said the land acquisition work had almost been completed on the Gojra-Shorkot section, while acquisition of land on the Shorkot-Khanewal section was in progress.
The tenders for the Gojra-Shorkot section will be floated soon. At the moment, we are in the process of acquiring land for this section, the source added. The Faisalabad-Gojra section of this project has been entrusted to the China International Water and Electric Corporation and its construction work started on February 25, 2010 and will be completed by December 31, 2013 at the cost of Rs 10 billion, he added. The Khanewal-Multan section, he said, was being completed with the aid of the Islamic Development Bank. Work on this section started in December 2011 and it will cost Rs 12.9 billion. Its contract was awarded to a joint venture of a Turkish firm EKO and a Pakistani firm, he added.
