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Internet Drugs Falsely Claim to Prevent, Treat STDs

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting consumers about certain drugs they may have purchased over the Internet. The products are sold as

• Tetrasil
• Genisil
• Aviralex
• OXi-MED
• Imulux
• Beta-mannan
• Micronutrient
• Qina
• SlicPlus

The products falsely claim to prevent or treat a variety of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including

• herpes
• chlamydia
• human papillomavirus (HPV)
• cervical dysplasia
• HIV/AIDS

Some of these products falsely claim to have "FDA Approval" and some claim to be "more effective" than conventional medicine. Examples of claims that these products make include

• "Treatment Kills all Herpes Viruses WITHOUT having to use conventional drugs or medications"
• "Greatest STD Protection Without Condoms"
• "The active ingredient in our product is FDA certified to destroy 99.9992 percent of all pathogenic organisms [i.e.] Chlamydia"

Why Consumers Should be Concerned

"STDs are very serious diseases and these products give consumers a false sense of security that they are protected from STDs," says Janet Woodcock, M.D., Director of FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

What Consumers Should Do

• Stop using these products immediately.
• Contact your health care professional if you have used any of these products and experienced any bad reactions.
• Notify FDA of any complaints or problems associated with these products through MedWatch, FDA’s voluntary reporting program, at 800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm.

What is FDA Doing?

FDA issued warning letters to six U.S. companies and one foreign individual for marketing these products. The warning letters state that failure to properly resolve violations of the law may cause further enforcement action that can include seizure of illegal products and possible criminal prosecution. Issuing these warning letters is part of FDA’s ongoing campaign against fraudulent products marketed on the Internet for serious and life-threatening diseases. The agency also works to educate consumers about the risks and dangers that exist from buying unsafe products.

For More Information

FDA Press Release
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01803.html

Date Posted: March 12, 2008

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