Ndola — THE United States embassy has said Depo Provera, an injectable contraceptive is safe as it meets the safety regulatory standards.

U.S. embassy public affairs officer, Christopher Wurst, said in an interview yesterday that the embassy was concerned about the rumours that the contraceptive was not safe.

Like all drugs distributed by pharmaceuticals, Depo Provera had met the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) standards and it was, therefore, unfortunate that an impression had been created that it was unsafe.

"An invalid test was conducted by a Zambian laboratory technician recently and this led to the inaccurate rumours. The drug was designed to be tested with human blood, but this was done with something else, which led to adverse results. Imagine trying to have a pregnancy test using tap water," Mr Wurst said.

He said rumours about the contraceptive were based on an invalid laboratory test.

On Saturday, Health Minister ,Brian Chituwo, announced the immediate withdrawal of the contraceptive on suspicions that the drug had an HIV/AIDS virus.