Expiration dates of pharmacological and biological preparations

One of the major problems confronting preventive medicine field practice in developing countries is guaranteeing that drugs and biologicals are still effective at the time of use. This is especially true for live virus vaccines which must be kept within a narrow temperature range. Because of the insurmountable adverse hazards, which sensitive pharmacologicals face in transit from the laboratory to the patient, many ineffective (and thus potentially harmful) drugs and biologicals are administered or many effective drugs and biologicals are discarded because of a suspicious history.