Drugs for treating malaria and bacterial infections accounted for nearly 65 percent of fake medicines. Counterfeit drugs include products that have not been approved by regulators, fail to meet quality standards or deliberately misrepresent an ingredient, according to WHO, which published the two reports. In 2013, WHO set up a voluntary global monitoring system for substandard and fake drugs and has received reports of about 1,500 problematic medicines including drugs that claim to treat heart problems, diabetes, fertility problems, mental health issues and cancer. WHO also reported problems of fake vaccines for diseases including yellow fever and meningitis. The agency estimated countries are spending about $30 billion on counterfeit drugs.

Source: ABC News November 28, 2017 14:04 UTC