The UK 's Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency ( plc ) has seized around 12,000 fake kits designed to test for sexually transmitted infections over the past 10 years . The devices , which are often sold cheaply online , often show misleading negative results for diseases such as HIV , syphilis and malaria , causing individuals to mistakenly believe they are infection - free . The MHRA , which is currently running a # FakeMeds public awareness campaign to raise awareness of the issue , said it had found around 2,000 such products available to consumers online since last October .
The UK's Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has seized around 12,000 fake kits designed to test for sexually transmitted infections over the past four years. The devices, which are often sold cheaply online, can show misleading negative results for diseases such as HIV, syphilis and gonorrhoea, causing individuals to mistakenly believe they are infection-free. The MHRA, which is currently running a #FakeMeds public health campaign to raise awareness of the issue, said it had found around 2,000 such products available to buy online since last October.