WHO Warns Against India-Made Cough Syrups
A global alert has been issued over four cough syrups after the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned they could be linked to the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia.
The syrups have been “potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children“, it said.
The products were manufactured by an Indian company, “Maiden Pharmaceuticals,” which had failed to provide guarantees about their safety, and the firm has not yet commented, the WHO added.
The WHO identified the medicines as “Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.”
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The four products had been identified in The Gambia, but “may have been distributed, through informal markets, to other countries or regions,” the WHO added, in the alert published on its website.
Read Also: Gambia Suspends Sales of Paracetamol Syrup due to High rate of Infant Mortality
It warned that their use may result in serious injury or death, especially among children.
The WHO’s intervention came after medical authorities in The Gambia – a popular tourist destination – detected an increase in cases of acute kidney injury among children under the age of five in late July.
The Gambia’s government has since suspended the use of all paracetamol syrups and has urged people to use tablets instead.
The WHO said that laboratory analysis of samples of the products “confirms that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminan
