Anti-infection drugs induce most adverse effects in China

China reported more than 1.2 million cases of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in 2012, with anti-infection drugs accounting for 40 percent of the total, according to a report from the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) Thursday. Highlighting cephalosporin as causing the greatest number of ADR cases among anti-infection drugs, senior SFDA official Yan Min called for manufacturing companies to research the drug's ADR sources more thoroughly. Yan added that the use of anti-infection drugs has been effectively regulated, as the proportion of ADR resulting from these drugs has been continuously dropping. The ADR monitoring report noted that of the 1.2 million ADR cases, 81.6 percent involved chemical-based medicine, while traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) contributed 17.1 percent. Biological products accounted for the rest. New or severe adverse reactions accounted for 20 percent of the total, the report said. As injections took up the lion's share of the total cases with 56.7 percent, Yan urged health institutions to strengthen supervision over their use. Her urge echoed a recent call from the Ministry of Health to implement safer practices after local authorities in northeast China's Liaoning Province confirmed last month that 99 people had contracted hepatitis C at a private clinic from contaminated injections.