70 children dead in Gambia; Government, WHO hold Indian Pharma Company 'Maiden' accountable for deaths

After an enquiry set up by the Gambian government over the sudden death of 70 children in the West African nation, a select committee of the Gambian National Assembly concluded that the deaths of the 70 children was due to acute kidney injury linked to their consumption of four contaminated syrups made by Indian pharma firm Maiden Pharmaceuticals.

Shocked over the deaths and that an Indian Pharma company has come under the cloud, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted, “70 children died suddenly in Gambia. The Gambian Govt & WHO linked the deaths to a contaminated Indian cough syrup. The Indian drug regulator refuted this. Now the WHO & the Gambian Govt have reiterated their stance. In addition to the human tragedy India's reputation is at stake”.

The committee heading the investigation into the sudden deaths recommended in its report to blacklist Maiden Pharma company and that its products be banned in the Gambian market.

The cough syrups in question are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said last week that a lab analysis of these syrups revealed "unacceptable" amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which can be toxic and cause acute kidney injury, in a major setback for India, which is responsible for producing one-third of the world's medicines.

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