Abuja — Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has issued an urgent public health alert after discovering counterfeit HIV test kits circulating in the country, raising fears of false negative results that could prove fatal.
The alert, published as Nigerian Public Alert 58, warns of counterfeit versions of the VISITECT HIV Advanced Disease Test Kits identified in Nigeria. The counterfeit products pose an immediate danger: false negative results could lead HIV-positive individuals to believe they are uninfected, delaying life-saving treatment and potentially spreading the virus unknowingly.
"This is a breaking public health emergency," said a NAFDAC spokesperson. "False negative results could be fatal. Anyone who has used these test kits should seek immediate verification through authorized healthcare facilities."
The NAFDAC alert is part of a broader pattern. The agency simultaneously issued three separate public health alerts this week, suggesting systemic supply chain vulnerabilities that counterfeiters are exploiting.
Three Simultaneous Alerts Point to Supply Chain Crisis
In addition to the counterfeit HIV test kit warning (Alert 58), NAFDAC issued Alert 57 notifying the public of a World Health Organization "Notice of Concern" for products manufactured by Meril Diagnostics Pvt Ltd. The WHO notice raises quality control concerns about diagnostic products from the manufacturer.
Alert 56, meanwhile, addressed the discontinued registration of multi-dose artemether/lumefantrine dry powder for oral suspension, an antimalarial medication. The discontinuation underscores ongoing challenges in Nigeria's pharmaceutical supply chain.
The simultaneous alerts suggest systemic problems rather than isolated incidents. Counterfeit and substandard medical products have long plagued Nigeria's healthcare system, but the clustering of three major alerts in rapid succession has alarmed public health officials.
"We are seeing evidence of sophisticated counterfeiting operations targeting Nigeria's medical supply chains," said one Lagos-based healthcare analyst.



