(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday it
has become aware of products being sold online that fraudulently claim
to prevent or treat Ebola.
The FDA's warning comes on the heels
of comments by Nigeria's top health official, Onyebuchi Chukwu, who
reportedly said earlier Thursday that eight Ebola patients in Lagos, the
country's capital, will receive an experimental treatment called
nano-silver.
Erica Jefferson, a spokeswoman for the FDA, said she
could not provide any information about the product referenced by the
Nigerians.
The FDA did not specify any products in its warning.
Silver
has been used as an antibacterial for centuries. Tiny silver particles
known as nano-silver have controversially been incorporated into a
variety of consumer products such as socks and bedding to help block
odors caused by bacteria and mold.
The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency considers nano-silver a pesticide. Manufacturers of
products that contain it must register them with the agency.
http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUKKBN0GE2GD20140814?irpc=932
Nano-silver is also sometimes sold online as a dietary supplement even
though Danish researchers found in a recent study that nano-silver can
penetrate and damage cells.
The FDA regulates dietary supplements
and said in its statement that "by law, dietary supplements cannot
claim to prevent or cure disease."
The agency said it had received consumer complaints about the Ebola claims.
"Individuals
promoting these unapproved and fraudulent products must take immediate
action to correct or remove these claims or face potential FDA action,"
the agency said.
The Ebola outbreak ravaging West Africa has
claimed 1,069 lives so far. Most have been in Guinea, Sierra Leone and
Liberia. Nigeria has confirmed 10 cases of the disease and four deaths.
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