US FDA calls out two companies over fake Ebola treatments
One company – Ebola-C – claims on its website that the product supports healthy wound healing and protects against the virus.
“Your product is not generally recognized as safe and effective for the above referenced uses and therefore, the product is a ‘new drug’,” which has not been approved, the agency says.
The agency also says that the treatment offered on the site “is offered for a condition that is not amenable to self-diagnosis and treatment by individuals who are not medical practitioners; therefore, adequate directions for use cannot be written so that a layperson can use this drug safely for its intended purposes.”
The other warning letter went to BodyHealth.com, which has a product known as the Optimum Health Survival Kit, which it claims “provides a proactive solution to help fight against Ebola or any other viral outbreak scare.”
Claims on the company’s website are supplemented by metatag keywords used to bring consumers to the site through Internet searches and include “ebola,” “ebola virus,” and “ebola scare.”
The warnings are both similar to letters issued to three other companies back in September: Natural Solutions Foundation, Young Living, and dōTERRA International LLC. The warnings come as the Ebola virus ravaging West Africa has now claimed more than 5,000 lives, according to the WHO.
In addition to the warning letters issued, the agency has authorized the emergency use of a number of diagnostics to help detect Ebola.
