WHO to cross-check four Indian-made cough syrup as 66 children's die in Gambia

The WHO has issued an alert for four "contaminated" drugs supplied by an Indian pharmaceutical company that has been "possibly connected" to acute kidney damage and 66 deaths among children in the Gambia.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, told reporters that the four drugs are cough and cold syrups manufactured in India by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited.

“WHO is doing additional investigations with the manufacturer and Indian regulatory authorities”, he added, adding that the loss of young lives as a result of the items is beyond heartbreaking for their families.

Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup are the four products.

Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited, Haryana, India, is the producer of these items, and "to far, the indicated manufacturer has not offered assurances to WHO on the safety and quality of these products," according to WHO.

While the infected items have so far only been found in The Gambia, the WHO leader believes they may have been distributed to other nations.

To prevent additional harm to people, WHO has advised all nations to detect and remove these items from circulation.

The WHO Medical Product Alert refers to four substandard products, identified in The Gambia and reported to WHO in September 2022.

Substandard medical items, according to WHO, are those that do not fulfill their quality requirements or specifications.

As a result, they are "out of specification," according to the health organization. Laboratory examination of samples from each of the four items indicates that pollutants such as diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are present in excessive concentrations.

"Toxic effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death," it said.

It needs mention here that the World Health Organization (WHO) has banned four cough and cold syrups produced in India and issued a medical product warning, alleging that they may be related to the deaths of 66 children in the Gambia.