Peru: Thousands of discarded vaccines found on beach

Thousands of flu vaccines were found on the shore of Oquendo beach, in Peru, during a beach clean-up campaign carried out by the Non-Governmental Organization Vida.

Activists and workers from the organisation began the litter collection activities on October 5, and reported the discovery of the vaccines through social media on Monday as they continued with the clean-up work.

Arturo Alfaro, from the environmental organisation Vida, told The Associated Press there were thousands of vaccines from the German laboratory, GlaxoSmithKline.

The health ministry denied in a statement that state health authorities had procured the vaccines.

The organisation said that they have been cleaning up these beaches for two decades, and it is common to find medical waste such as syringes and blood sampling tubes.