Pharmacy owner faces jail as rabies treatment leads to death of 5-year-old

A pharmacy shop located at Kenyase-Adwumam in the Kwabre East Municipality of the Ashanti Region has been shut down to make way for investigations into the death of a five-year-old boy.

Agents from the Pharmacy Council took this action against owners of the Life Dream Pharmacy on Friday (5 July) after preliminary investigations established that the facility illegally dispensed drugs to the child after he was bitten by a rabid dog in August 2022.

A Director at the Pharmacy Council in the Ashanti Region Mr Benjamin Kwarteng Frimpong who led a taskforce to the facility told Accra-based Asaase Radio that an attendant at that time administered ATS Tetanus injection and gave out Efpac suspension, Amoxiclav suspension and Vitamin C syrup as a treatment.

“And so, the communication to the parents was that with the medications provided everything would be sorted out and that there was no need to seek any further intervention. But just about after about one month and three days, the child passed on”, Kwarteng revealed.

He added: “But the case did not come to us early. The Kwabre East Municipal Health Directorate wrote the Regional Health Directorate for further investigations…so we received a letter from the Health Directorate and moved to the facility.

Upon an inspection, it was revealed that Life Dream Pharmacy was not meeting the laid down standards and regulations set by the Council, hence the decision to shut it down.

The Pharmacy Council has since summoned owners of the facility to advance investigations.

“We will forward this development to the disciplinary committee for further action. The committee has a power of a High Court, so we are looking at imposition of fines imprisonment, and revocation of licence. Where there is compensation, we will ensure that the right thing is done”, Kwarteng further indicated.