WHO links Indian company’s syrups to 66 children’s deaths in The Gambia
India is a major supplier of generic medicines and vaccines, at heavily discounted rates, for various health-related projects in poor third-world countries under the aegis of the United Nations. While this has earned the country a lot of goodwill, an incident that came to light yesterday might prove to become a black mark on that.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is probing the role of four cough and cold syrups made by a Haryana-based (with the head office in New Delhi) pharmaceutical company behind the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia, a country in West Africa (it also happens to be the smallest country within mainland Africa).
The company under the scanner is Maiden Pharmaceuticals. The WHO has issued an advisory, saying the syrups could be the reason for serious kidney injuries, which led to the 66 deaths, and therefore, “Please do not use them”.
The concerned syrup brands are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup. The WHO said the adverse effects of these are the result of contamination, in the form of unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. Both are “toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal”, according to the advisory.
India’s drugs regulatory body, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) said it has started investigating this serious issue. It also said the drugs were sent to Gambia alone.
The international heath body also said the issue is still very much under investigation and no definitive link of the syrups to the deaths has been found yet, though there is a very strong suspicion.
