The production of a legendary medicine whose generic name is Diclofenac sodium (a strong analgesic for pain management) that has been used for ages is banned in Bangladesh. In a press briefing yesterday from prime minister’s office, it was said that it was banned for protecting the vultures from extinction.
However, only the production is banned, its marketing will continue for another six months.
It was a good NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) in comparison to other drugs in its effect on human heart. Voltaren was a famous trade name of this medicine.Diclofenac originated from Ciba-Geigy (now Novartis) in 1973.
Recently, the out break of Anthrax in Bangladesh lifted the discussion of a need of vultures as natural scavengers. According to many in earlier days due to the presence of vultures, Anthrax was not a great threat. dhakanews.info published many news on Anthrax.
Use of diclofenac in animals has been reported to have led to a sharp decline in the vulture population in the Indian subcontinent, 95% decline in 2003, 99.9% decline as of 2008. The mechanism is probably renal failure, a known side-effect of diclofenac. Vultures eat the carcasses of livestock which have been administered veterinary diclofenac, and are poisoned by the accumulated chemical. At a meeting of the National Wildlife Board in March 2005, the Government of India announced that it intended to phase out the veterinary use of diclofenac. Meloxicam is a safer candidate to replace use of diclofenac. It is more expensive than diclofenac, but the price is coming down as more drug companies begin to manufacture it. (Based on Wikipedia)
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