WHO alerts public on India-made cough syrups linked to deaths of 66 kids in Gambia; probe ordered

New Delhi: The World Health Organisation has said that contaminated cough and cold syrups produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals may be responsible for the kidney damage that caused the deaths of scores of children in the Gambia. India has ordered a probe.

Top sources in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, according to NDTV, said the WHO alerted the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) about the cough syrups on September 29. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation immediately took up the matter with the Haryana regulatory authority and launched a detailed investigation, the sources said.

According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus an investigation is being carried out by the UN agency concerned and requested Maiden Pharma products be taken off the market.

“WHO has today issued a medical product alert for four contaminated medicines identified in #Gambia that have been potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children. The loss of these young lives is beyond heartbreaking for their families,” the WHO said in a series of tweets, citing its Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The cough syrups have been manufactured by M/s Maiden Pharmaceutical Limited in Haryana’s Sonepat. The sources added that the firm had, it seems, exported these products only to Gambia. Maiden Pharma has not yet commented on the allegations.

The WHO has warned that the syrups may have been distributed outside the West African country and a global exposure is “possible”. He said that the cough syrups “have been potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children”.

The WHO Medical Product Alert said that the four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.

“If you have these substandard products, please DO NOT use them. If you, or someone you know, have used these products orsuffered any adverse reaction/event after use, you are advised to seek immediate medical advice from a qualified healthcare professional and report the incident to the National Regulatory Authority or National Pharmacovigilance Centre,” the alert said.

“National regulatory/health authorities are advised to immediately notify WHO if these substandard products are discovered in their respective country,” it added.

According to a report in the Mint, those substances are toxic to humans and can be fatal, it said, adding that the toxic effect “can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death.”

–INDIA NEWS STREAM