The deaths of dozens of children in the Gambia of kidney damage may be linked to contaminated cough and cold syrups made by an Indian drugmaker, the World Health Organization said today.
The Director-General of the WHO Tedros Andanom Gebregesus told reporters that the UN agency is investigating alongside Indian regulators and New Delhi-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Maiden Pharma declined to comment on the WHO warning, while Reuters calls and messages to India’s drug controller general went unanswered. The Gambian government and India’s health ministry also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The WHO also issued a medical product alert asking regulators to remove Maiden Pharma’s products from the market.
The products may have been distributed elsewhere through informal markets, but so far they have only been detected in The Gambia, the WHO said in its warning.
The warning concerns four products – Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.
Laboratory analysis confirmed “unacceptable” amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which can be toxic when consumed, the WHO said.
The Gambian government said last month it was also investigating the deaths, as a spike in cases of acute kidney injury in children under five was reported in late July.
Doctors in The Gambia raised the alarm in July after several children began to fall ill with kidney problems three to five days after taking a topical paracetamol syrup. By August, 28 had died, but health authorities said the toll was likely to rise. The death toll now stands at 66, the WHO announced today.
The deaths have shaken the small West African nation, which is already dealing with multiple health emergencies, including measles and malaria.
Maiden Pharmaceuticals manufactures drugs at its facilities in India, which it then sells domestically and exports to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, according to its website.
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
