The death of 66 infants in The Gambia has prompted an investigation by the World Health Organisation of four kinds of India-originated syrups blamed for the fatalities, APA can report on Thursday.
The WHO had alerted the health ministry in Banjul and the Indian supplier of the medications when the children had died after ostensibly taking the cough syrups which were also blamed for acute kidney complications last month.
The Indian government has also issued a statement saying it was investigating the suitability or otherwise of the use of the syrups which were manufactured by pharmaceutical firm based in India’s Haryana State.
The drugs said to have been manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceutical Limited in Sonipat city based in the state have been identified as Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.
The firm has not commented after it was claimed in Indian media reports that it had supplied the syrups only to The Gambia but the WHO suspects they may have been distributed elsewhere in the world, posing an open peril to other prospective consumers.
The New Delhi offices of M/s Maiden Pharmaceutical Limited have been closed.
The WHO had drawn the attention of India’s Drugs Controller General on September 29th shortly after preliminary investigation established that the syrups were to blame for the mass death to the infants in Gambia, which has one of the weakest health systems in Africa and is still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.
WHO said the syrups “contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants” which can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, inability to urinate, headache, acute kidney complications and death.
India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation has reportedly taken the issue with the Haryana Regulatory Authority with a view to launching a full-scale investigation.
Meanwhile in view of widespread public consternation over the fatalities, the Gambian health ministry has announced a total recall of the syrups in question until further notice.
WN/as/APA