Stop production and recall all French vitamin D Uvesterol

The death of a 10-day-old baby after taking vitamin D Uvesterol - a very popular type in France - is causing heated controversy in France.

The French Minister of Health has officially spoken out to request that this vitamin not be used and the manufacturer has immediately stopped production and recalled all drugs from the market.

Uvesterol D is probably the most commonly used calcium supplement for children in France, from newborns to 5 years old. As soon as they are born, children are prescribed vitamin D supplements by their doctors, and every winter, when there is a lack of sunlight, children are also advised to take vitamin D supplements, and most doctors prescribe the most common type, Uvesterol.

Uvesterol D product is used for cases of vitamin D deficiency. Photo: AFP

Therefore, the incident of a 10-day-old baby dying after taking this vitamin has caused a great shock in French public opinion. The French press reported that the incident took place on December 21 but was completely hidden, only the National Agency for Medicines Safety (ANSM) knew about this incident, then this agency conducted further investigation on December 27 and it was not until January 2 that the public knew through an article published in Le Figaro.

Contrary to initial speculation that the baby died at a hospital in Paris Cochin, the national agency for drug safety officially announced: a 10-day-old infant died of sudden cardiac arrest at home. The baby had taken a dose of Uvesterol earlier.

The agency is currently conducting investigations to find out the real causes of death. The agency emphasized that since it was first introduced to the market in 1990, there have been no deaths related to Uvesterol D.

French Health Minister Marisol Touraine has requested the suspension of the use and circulation of Uvesterol D: “I would like to emphasize that there is no risk for those who have used this drug Uvesterol alone. As a precaution, we only recommend stopping the use of Uvesterol D. If any family is using another type of vitamin D, they can continue to use it.”

The incident caused panic among the French public, with many parents returning the Uvesterol D they had purchased. Pharmacies also stopped selling the drug. Crinex, a pharmaceutical company that sells nearly 2 million tubes of Uvesterol D each year, immediately announced that it would stop production. An emergency blue phone number was set up to answer any questions related to Uvesterol D.

In fact, the controversy surrounding this vitamin has been around for years, with a series of warnings about side effects, especially from the administration of the drug by tube. The National Agency for Drug Safety has also been investigating Uvesterol D since 2006, but has not yet made any official conclusions, only introducing a monitoring mechanism that has been criticized by the French press as “half-hearted”.

In October 2006, the agency noted two cases of severe side effects arising from Uvesterol D. By November 2010, the National Committee for Pharmaceutical Supervision had successfully requested a contraindication for Uvesterol D in the first month of life of an infant.

By November 2014, Crinex had to make some adjustments to the dosage and concentration of Uvesterol at the request of the authorities. It is known that the recent investigation was conducted in July 2016 but no conclusions have been announced yet. In the coming days, the drug safety authorities and Crinex will have to make specific and clear announcements to the French public about the harmful effects of Uvesterol D./.

According to VOV