Nepal

Kathmandu, October 15

After six months of issuing writ of mandamus, directing the government to ensure protection of stray cattle, especially cows, oxen and their calves, the Supreme Court has finally published full text of the order.

As per the full text of the apex court, it requires the government authorities to end ill-treatment and cruelty meted out to stray cattle, protect them from hunger and diseases, and provide them safe shelters.

Cows, oxen and their calves have been usually abandoned once they are no more useful due to old age or diseases.

A joint bench of justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Puroshattam Bhandari, on April 21, had ordered the government to protect stray cattle and take action against animal cruelty according to existing laws, in response to a writ petition filed by advocate Padam Bahadur Shrestha on March 3.

In the writ petition, advocate Shrestha had named the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, and the Department of Livestock Services, as defendants.

Article 9 (3) of the constitution regards cow as the national animal. Section 289 of the Criminal Code Act has barred people from slaughtering cows and oxen.

Section 117 of the act does not allow anyone to abandon domestic animals after they become old or useless. Similarly, section 290 bars people from indulging in any kind of cruelty against animals.

The government has been told to maintain coordination with local levels for collecting and maintaining computerised data of cattle kept or raised by farmers, tag stray cattle, encourage farmers to insure their animals, establish protection and care centres in each municipality or rural municipality, develop grazing land, plant fodder trees in community forests, and motivate and help farmers to take care of old animals.

The post Govt told to ensure protection of stray cattle appeared first on The Himalayan Times.

Kathmandu, October 15

Though the Department of Drug Administration, Nepaldrug regulatory authority, has directed all pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers to avoid N-nitrosodimethylamine impurity in ranitidine, the department itself doesn&t have equipment to conduct the necessary tests. Randitidine is used to treat ulcers of the stomach and intestines.

International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified N-nitrosodimethylamine impurity as carcinogenic to humans. US Food and Drug Administration has recommended Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry testing protocol to test samples of ranitidine. LC-HRMS is a method used to determine impurities in drugs.

&We don&t have equipment for the test,& said Pan Bahadur Chhetri, acting director at the Department of Drugs. &However, to ensure patientsafety, we have told all pharmaceutical manufacturers and suppliers to avoid N-nitrosodimethylamine impurity in raw materials, manufactured medicines and supply of ranitidine. We can ask for analysis reports of the raw materials and manufactured medicines from suppliers,& Chhetri added.

Releasing a statement, the US Food and Drug Administration had said some ranitidine medicines, contained a nitrosamine impurity called N-nitrosodimethylamine at low levels. N-nitrosodimethylamine has been classified as a substance that could cause cancer, based on results from laboratory tests. N-nitrosodimethylamine is a known environmental contaminant and is found in water and food, including meats, dairy products, and vegetables.

Ranitidine is a commonly prescribed medicine for countering acidity and is on World Health OrganisationModel List of Essential Medicines.

Ranitidine is an over-the-counter and prescription drug. Ranitidine is an H2 (histamine-2) blocker, which decreases the amount of acid created by the stomach. Over-the-counter ranitidine has been approved to prevent and relieve heartburn associated with acid ingestion and sour stomach. Prescription ranitidine is approved for multiple indications, including treatment and prevention of ulcers of the stomach and intestines and treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.

The national drug regulatory authority does not have records of how many versions of the drug are been sold in the Nepali market.

The post DDA lacks equipment to test impurity in prescription drug Ranitidine appeared first on The Himalayan Times.