The health ministry is investigating several cases of unauthorised medical treatments across Cyprus, ranging from unlicensed plasma therapy to fake weight loss injectables sold through social media, it said on Saturday.

Police said on Friday a study of the plasmapheresis case “did not yield sufficient evidence to establish criminal offences”, after receiving a complaint from the health ministry in November 2023 concerning a patient who developed serious complications.

The file was subsequently forwarded to the legal service, which reached the same conclusion.

The complaint had followed allegations from cardiothoracic surgeon Marinos Sotiriou, who said a patient was admitted to intensive care with extensive thrombosis after undergoing plasmapheresis (plasma exchange) at an unlicensed centre in Larnaca.

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Sotiriou insisted the treatment itself was legitimate when properly administered, but warned against what he called “charlatan tourism”, adding that gaps in the law make it difficult for authorities to close such centres down.

Speaking on CyBC, senior health ministry official Karolina Stylianou said that adequate checks remain in place and that the ministry intervenes immediately upon receiving complaints.

Referring to the Larnaca case, she confirmed the centre had since ceased operating under its previous name, though she could not say whether it continued to operate under another.

Stylianou said the ministry would not name centres currently under investigation, to protect ongoing enquiries, and urged the public to report any centre offering treatments outside approved medical practice.

Companies under scrutiny

According to a separate report by news outlet Reporter, a company based in Paphos has come under scrutiny after advertising unapproved weight loss injectables on social media since last August, with adverts reportedly featuring women demonstrating how to use the products.

Several individuals are said to have suffered gastrointestinal side effects after using the preparations, with some requiring hospital treatment in private clinics.

The pharmaceutical services confirmed to Phileleftheros that inspections of beauty salons, gyms and medical practices are continuing in an effort to identify unapproved products in circulation.

The services’ director, Elena Panagiotopoulou, said her department receives regular complaints about wellness style treatments marketed online, often involving intravenous vitamins presented under labels such as “energy” or “recovery” serums.

Dr Michalis Anastasiades, chairman of the medical association’s ethics committee, said the body was cooperating closely with the pharmaceutical services and had contacted police over the Larnaca case.

He warned that unregulated injectable products could cause allergic reactions and damage to the liver, kidneys and nervous system, and said much of the trade now takes place online, making enforcement increasingly difficult.

Internal medicine physician Vasos Economou, speaking to Sigma TV, said complaints against certain clinics had gone unresolved for years despite meetings with senior officials, including the attorney general.

Referring to one case dismissed on the grounds that no harm had yet occurred, he asked, “must we wait for someone to die to intervene?”.