1.35 million condoms handed out during South Africa celebrations recalled; poured water into the condoms and they leak -
South Africa is recalling 1.35 million condoms given away at the African National Congress party's centenary celebrations amid charges some broke during intercourse and others were porous, an official said Tuesday.
AIDS activist Sello Mokhalipi of the Treatment Action Campaign said he complained after “we had people flocking in, coming to report that the condoms had burst while they were having sex.”
Some were panicking because they were infected with AIDS and were concerned for their partners, he said.
Spokesman Jabu Mbalula of the health department of Free State province, which distributed the condoms before the Jan. 6-8 celebrations, said they had recalled the entire batch of 1,350,000 condoms around Jan. 18. He said there was no need for a panic.
But he was unable to say immediately how many of the condoms were used or have been recovered.
In 2007, the government had to recall more than 20 million defective condoms manufactured locally. Media reports said a testing manager at the South African Bureau of Standards had taken a bribe to certify the faulty condoms. In 2008 another 5 million defective condoms were recalled.
The latest allegations involve condoms distributed to hotels and bars in the central city of Bloemfontein, where tens of thousands of people travelled from all over the country for the ANC celebrations. South Africa has the world's highest number of AIDS victims at 5.6 million.
Mokhalipi said the complaints started coming in Jan. 11, prompting his office to run tests on some of the allegedly flawed condoms.
“We poured water into the condoms and they were leaking, not just in one place, they were leaking like a sieve,” he said. Looking at them, “you can see there are small pores.”
He said the health department had distributed a new batch of condoms last week, which did not leak under the water test.
Read more -
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1123989--1-35-million-condoms-handed-out-during-south-africa-celebrations-recalled-over-flaws?bn=1
South Africa is recalling 1.35 million condoms given away at the African National Congress party's centenary celebrations amid charges some broke during intercourse and others were porous, an official said Tuesday.
AIDS activist Sello Mokhalipi of the Treatment Action Campaign said he complained after “we had people flocking in, coming to report that the condoms had burst while they were having sex.”
Some were panicking because they were infected with AIDS and were concerned for their partners, he said.
Spokesman Jabu Mbalula of the health department of Free State province, which distributed the condoms before the Jan. 6-8 celebrations, said they had recalled the entire batch of 1,350,000 condoms around Jan. 18. He said there was no need for a panic.
But he was unable to say immediately how many of the condoms were used or have been recovered.
In 2007, the government had to recall more than 20 million defective condoms manufactured locally. Media reports said a testing manager at the South African Bureau of Standards had taken a bribe to certify the faulty condoms. In 2008 another 5 million defective condoms were recalled.
The latest allegations involve condoms distributed to hotels and bars in the central city of Bloemfontein, where tens of thousands of people travelled from all over the country for the ANC celebrations. South Africa has the world's highest number of AIDS victims at 5.6 million.
Mokhalipi said the complaints started coming in Jan. 11, prompting his office to run tests on some of the allegedly flawed condoms.
“We poured water into the condoms and they were leaking, not just in one place, they were leaking like a sieve,” he said. Looking at them, “you can see there are small pores.”
He said the health department had distributed a new batch of condoms last week, which did not leak under the water test.
Read more -
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1123989--1-35-million-condoms-handed-out-during-south-africa-celebrations-recalled-over-flaws?bn=1
