WHILE many drugs that are illegally imported from neighbouring
countries are expired before they even enter Myanmar, some that
enter the country through legal channels are also compromised
by breakdowns in the so-called cold chain intended to keep vaccines
refrigerated, said sources in the transport and pharmaceuticals
industries.
An employee at Yangon International Airport said drugs that
arrive at the airport requiring refrigeration during customs delays
are stored in a freezer together with food items such as vegetables
and seafood.
However, medical experts have said that putting drugs in a freezer
that is not set at the proper temperature is just as damaging
as not refrigerating them at all, as most vaccines must be kept
within a specific temperature range using special storage containers
to maintain their potency.
Dr Maung Maung Lay, the chairman of the Myanmar Pharmaceutical
and Medical Equipment Entrepreneurs Association, described the
cold chain as a system of storing and transporting drugs –
especially vaccines and testing solutions – within the fixed
temperature range of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.
“The system refers to the continuum of safe handling practices
with materials, equipment and procedures that begins when drugs
are manufactured and ends when they are administered to patients,”
he said.
A spokesperson from a local drug import company said normal
freezers did not constitute part of the cold chain system.
“Vaccines should never be stored in regular freezers because
they are exposed to warm air every time someone opens the door.
These drugs must be stored only where fixed temperatures can be
maintained,” he said.
Dr Maung Maung Lay said the cold chain was also difficult to
maintain in areas where power supplies were irregular.
“If a power failure continues for more than four hours,
vaccines and testing solutions should be shifted to an ice container
with ice packs,” he said. “Then they should be taken
as soon as possible to somewhere with power so the proper temperature
range can be restored.”
