The WHO has launched a probe into the recent deaths of 66 children in Gambia from acute kidney injuries.
According to the WHO on Wednesday, the deaths may be linked to contaminated cough and cold syrups made by Indian drug manufacturer, Maiden Pharmaceuticals.
A spike in cases of acute kidney injury among kids under five years old was detected in late July resulting in a local investigation, which has confirmed “unacceptable” amounts of die-thy-lene glycol and eth-y-lene glycol, which can be toxic.
WHO Medical Product Alert
This WHO Medical Product Alert refers to four substandard products, identified in The Gambia and reported to WHO in September 2022. Substandard medical products are products that fail to meet either their quality standards or specifications and are, therefore “out of specification”.
The four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup. The stated manufacturer of these products is Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited (Haryana, India). To date, the stated manufacturer has not provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products.
Laboratory analysis of samples of each of the four products confirms that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants. To date, these four products have been identified in The Gambia, but may have been distributed, through informal markets, to other countries or regions.
Risks
Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal
Toxic effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state, and acute kidney injury which may lead to death.
Source of Text & Image: WHO | Arirang News Reporter : eunjin910(a)arirang.com