Millions of faulty condoms recalled but many remain in circulation in South Africa

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDFeb 1 2012

A large number of faulty condoms are in circulation in the Bloemfontein area of South Africa, despite a recall warns an HIV group. The problem with the condoms was discovered after people complained to the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC).

Health authorities have recalled more than one million condoms handed out ahead of the recent African National Congress centenary celebrations. They say they are still investigating claims that the condoms are porous.

The affected condoms — a government brand called Choice — was distributed early this month as part of the festivities marking the100th anniversary of the founding of the African National Congress. A batch of 8,700 boxes - which all bore the South African Bureau of Standards stamp - were delivered to guesthouses, hotels, restaurants and bars. The Free State Health Department says it is recalling the estimated 1.35 million condoms as a “precautionary measure” - and urged the public not to panic.

But TAC's Sello Mokhalipi told the BBC that the condoms “are still out there in large numbers and that is of great concern to us”. “The complaints are that the condoms broke during intercourse,” he said. TAC says it conducted its own investigation using some of the condoms that had been handed out for the centenary celebrations and found them to be porous. “When you poured water in them, the water seeped through,” Mr Mokhalipi said.

Free State Health Department spokesperson Jabu Mbalula said the health authority could neither confirm nor deny that the condoms are faulty until it has concluded its own tests on the recovered condoms. This is the first time that Free State province - which has a population of 5.5 million people - has had to recall condoms. The last major recall of condoms in South Africa was in August 2007 when 20 million were recalled after “hundreds of thousands” were found to be faulty.

South Africa has one of the highest infection rates of HIV - the virus that causes Aids - in the world.

The scandal comes just a week after the Journal of the Royal Society Interface published a new study indicating increased condom use accounted for the vast majority of the decline in HIV infections in South Africa between 2000 and 2008. Epidemiologist Leigh F. Johnson and colleagues at the University of Cape Town found that increased condom use accounted for more than 70 percent of the decline.