FDA issues warning regarding illegal online pharmacies
Last Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning to consumers advising them to beware of Tamiflu sold by online pharmacies. According to the regulatory agency fake Tamiflu is being sold by illegal online pharmacies and has proven to be perilous to the health of those using it. The drug in question is apparently being marketed as a “generic” form of Tamiflu.
The U.S. commissioner of food and drugs issued a statement saying “A rogue internet website marketing drug products may look like a professional and legitimate website but may actually be an illegal operation.” As a result of the harmful fake Tamiflu being sold online, the FDA is warning consumers not to purchase from illegal online pharmacies as their drugs often contain too little or too much of the active ingredient; sometimes the active ingredient is even counterfeit, impure, or contaminated.
Tamiflu was given the OK by the FDA in 1999 to help fight the flu virus. The drug is taken orally and works to fight and prevent influenza by blocking the spread of the virus between cells in the body. Regular Tamiflu contains an active ingredient known as oseltamivir; however laboratory tests on the fake Tamiflu have revealed that its active ingredient is actually the antibiotic cloxacillin, a drug similar to penicillin. An individual allergic to penicillin who uses the fake Tamiflu unknowingly could suffer life threatening side effects.
The fake Tamiflu was discovered after the agency ordered a batch of Tamiflu off a website without a prescription. The drugs were packaged in India and labels said the drug was Tamiflu containing oseltamivir, though testing proved that was not the case. The original website the FDA purchased from is no longer in existence. 
This Life, which seems so fair,
Is like a bubble blown up in the air
By sporting children’s breath,
Who chase it everywhere