Vicks Sinex Nasal Spray Recalled for Bacterial Contamination

The Procter & Gamble Company announced today it is voluntarily recalling three lots of its Vicks Sinex nasal spray in three countries: the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The company said it is taking this precautionary step after finding the bacteria B. cepacia in a small amount of product made at its plant in Gross Gerau, Germany. There have been no reports of illness. However, the bacteria could cause serious infections for individuals with a compromised immune system, or those with chronic lung conditions, such as cystic fibrosis. B. cepacia poses little medical risk to healthy individuals.

P&G detected this problem during routine quality control at the plant and promptly took action. The company's analysis to date shows this problem is limited to a single batch of raw material mixture involving three lots of product. These three lots were sold only in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.

For the lot numbers of the products involved, CLICK HERE.

This lot number is listed on both the outer carton and the bottle. Consumers should simply discard the affected product as they would any OTC medicine.

P&G is removing the product in question from store shelves and has informed regulatory authorities in the affected countries. P&G said it found the bacteria B. cepacia in a small amount of product from U.S. lot 9239028831 and is conducting testing on the U.K. and German lots that have been produced from the same batch of raw material mixture.

Anyone who has these specific lots of this product can call P&G for a replacement coupon or refund at (from the United States) 877-876-7881 (Hours of operation: Monday - Friday, 9AM - 6PM US ET, Saturday - Sunday, 9AM - 4PM US ET)

Any adverse events with the use of this product and/or quality problems in the United States should be reported via the FDA's MedWatch Program by fax at 1-800-FDA-0178, by mail at MedWatch, HF-2, FDA, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852-9787, or on the MedWatch Web site at www.fda.gov/medwatch.