Children’s fever reduction products have been reduced by more than 25 per cent in Canada, a major health-care system is seeing a boom in the use of a popular anti-fever medication, and parents are worried about a spike in the number of children going to bed sick.
Health officials said Thursday that they’ve reduced the effectiveness of a powerful allergy medicine known as Avandia, which has been widely used in children as a natural fever relief.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Thursday it is reducing the potency of the product from 4 to 2.5 per cent, citing safety concerns.
The agency has been testing the product in Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, as well as the U.S. and elsewhere.
The FDA said in a statement it has received additional information on the product.
The product’s potency is not affected by the increased use of other medicines such as paracetamol, said FDA spokesperson Janice Wiedefeld.
The Food and Drug Administration is also taking additional steps to improve the safety of other allergy medications.
The first product to be tested in Canada for safety concerns was a non-prescription product from a U.K. company called Epi-Pak, which was withdrawn from the market last month after a Food and Drugs Department investigation.
Health Canada also has warned consumers about using the product when their immune system is weak.
The agency said the FDA has received further information about the effectiveness and safety of the EpiPak product.
An industry group that has long called for the government to ban the drug from children under 18 said it’s disappointed the FDA is lowering the potency.
“We applaud the FDA for taking a proactive approach to reducing the safety and efficacy of the drug,” said the Canadian Association of Paediatricians.
The FDA said the agency will be closely monitoring the progress of the FDA’s new allergy medication, Avandias use in children, and the safety implications of Avandas use in certain settings, such as nursing homes, hospitals and hospitals.
AvaTox has been used in more than 40 countries, including the U., Japan, Germany, Australia and New Zealand, according to its website.
The company also makes an antiviral medication known as Fluoxetine.
In the U, it has been approved for use in adults by the Food and Nutrition Board of Canada and by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, said it has reached agreement with the FDA to begin a phased-in phase 3 trial of Avands efficacy in children.
It is not known whether the new medication will be sold in Canada.
Follow The Globe’s top health stories: The FDA’s decision came a day after the agency said it had received additional safety information from the FDA about the use and efficacy data for the allergy medicine.
At least 13 children in the U.’s two largest cities have tested positive for the virus, which is transmitted through direct contact with infected people, including some who have contracted the virus themselves, the agency reported.
Health officials have said they expect to see a spike of the virus in Canada as families seek to reduce the number who may be sick, especially during the holidays.
According to the Canadian Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 5,500 people are known to have contracted coronavirus in the country, including about 800 deaths.
Since Oct. 1, more than 3,300 Canadians have been diagnosed with coronaviruses, including more than 700 deaths.
Health authorities are urging Canadians to use common sense when caring for their loved ones and to take precautions if they are sick, including taking antiviral medications.
With files from The Associated Press
