An information widely shared in several WhatsApp groups over the past few days claims that a deadly insecticide is circulating. False, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Public Health and Population, and the World Health Organization.
Here is the claim: “It’s a product for mosquitoes but actually kills humans once sprayed in the house.” This is truly misinformation.
Verification:
Contacted by phone on November 23, 2022, Gan-Selé Gbadin, Director General of Standardization and Quality at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, stated he would respond after further research.
On March 23, 2023, via WhatsApp, Mr. Gan-Selé Gbadin indicated that after the research conducted, this information is unfounded:
“I can assure you that to date, my monitoring agencies have not reported the presence of this product in the Central African territory. I have never seen these products in our markets, so it is misleading information.”
Dr. Romuald Junior Ouefio, Military Doctor and Director of the Pharmacy of Laboratories and Traditional Medicine at the Ministry of Health and Population, clarified:
“No cases of illness or death related to this product have been reported or recorded in our hospital health centers.”
Before products are marketed, they must necessarily pass through a laboratory for verification. I take this opportunity to advise Central Africans not to buy pharmaceutical products from informal sectors,” he concluded.
In the same vein, we checked the WHO website, and no articles have been published about a deadly insecticide circulating in Central Africa.
This information emerged following reports of presumed victims of such products circulating on the African continent. However, after verification, it is clear that no deadly insecticide is in circulation in Central Africa.
By Romaric Théophile Gbomandji / Marie Paule Vopiade
This article is produced as part of the AFC-Internews partnership funded by USAID. However, the content does not engage the partner’s responsibility.
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