P-500 paracetamol does not contain Machupo virus

A message is making the rounds that a paracetamol tablet P/500 contains a virus called Machupo.

Verdict

The claim is false. A search on Google search engine shows that the claim, which is attached with a picture of a lady covered in what looks like rashes, and which first surfaced online in 2017, is not true. It was discovered that the agent of Machupo virus are rodents just like Lassa fever. 

• Maulud: Buhari seeks support to end insecurity, corruption
• Aisha Buhari unveils book on rural Fulani girl in Abuja

Also, the virus, which is called Bolivian Hemorrhagic Fever (BHF) has only been recorded in Bolivia and has not been associated with drugs.

Full text

A message warning against the use of a paracetamol drug having P/500 has resurfaced online. The message claimed doctors believe it contains a virus.

The message, which urged readers to send or forward it to family and friends in order to save lives, has before and after pictures of a lady who allegedly took the drug.

The ‘after’ picture, which showed someone with a peeled skin and looks sick, is attached to the message to strike fear into readers and prompt them to share.

The message stated “URGENT WARNING! Be careful not to take the paracetamol that comes written P/500. It is a new, very white and shiny paracetamol, doctors prove to contain “Machupo” virus, considered one of the most dangerous viruses in the world. And with high mortality rate. Please share this message, for all people and family. And save life from them…. I’ve done my part, now it’s your turn… remember that God helps those who help.”

What is Machupo Virus?

Just like the Lassa fever, which is common in Nigeria, Machupo Virus is a rodent carrying disease which is transmissible or spread through food, direct contact of virus particles. These particles come from the saliva, urine, or faeces of mouse carrying the virus. 

According to the American Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the virus which is also known as the Bolivian Haemorrhagic Fever (BHF) was first discovered in a town in Bolivia in 1963 and could lead to victims having internal bleeding when the case is severe.

The Pan-American Health Organisation said that its mortality rate is estimated at 5 to 30 percent.

The CDC in a post on its website said the development of the virus in the human system from the first and second week would be an influenza-like illness with fever, malaise, and fatigue followed by the headache, dizziness, myalgias, and severe lower back pain.

Also, it said illnesses like abdominal pain, anorexia, tremors, and hemodynamic instability may be followed by haemorrhagic manifestations, including bleeding from the oral and nasal mucosa and the gastrointestinal.

A public health information of the virus by the Government of Canada noted that the virus is concentrated in Bolivia and surrounding areas.

“The prevalence of the Machupo virus is limited to the location of its specific rodent hosts, which are commonly found in tropical grasslands and temperate forest regions of eastern Bolivian plains, northern Paraguay, and western Brazil.

Wikipedia noted that the efficacy of the virus led to the United States making it a potential biological weapon before the nation suspended its biological weapons program in 1969.

This is why the risk for laboratory-acquired infections is labelled highly lethal agent, and test with potentially infectious is advised to be performed in a biosafety level 4 laboratory. 

Verification

A Google search on the image reveals that the claim has been on the cyberspace since 2017. The message has been adopted in Thai and Hindi. This has also resulted to several fact checks to debunk the claim.

A fact check by The Times of India stated that the when it went viral, the Singapore government issued an advisory warning against believing and sharing the message.

Similarly, experts who spoke with AFP said it’s impossible for the paracetamol tablets to contain the virus. 

A lecturer in pharmaceutical sciences at Chulalongkorn University in India, Alisara Sangviroon Sujarit stated that “in order to produce a tablet, the conditions must be very dry. The virus needs a humid environment and a low temperature to reproduce. So that’s why the virus doesn’t survive in this kind of environment.

“Also, the pharmaceutical company will need to do a quality check, which makes it impossible that a medication would contain any virus.”

Conclusion

The claim is false as the temperature for the virus to survive has to be humid and not dry as the case of most therapeutic drugs.