World Health Organization:
The World Health Organization reported on Wednesday that contaminated cough and cold syrups produced by an Indian medication manufacturer may be responsible for the kidney damage that caused the deaths of scores of children in the Gambia.
According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, an inquiry is being carried out by the UN agency, Indian regulators, and medicine manufacturer Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd., situated in New Delhi.
Maiden Pharma declined to speak on the report, and the Drugs Controller General of India did not return calls or texts from Reuters. A request for feedback was also not quickly answered by the health ministries of India and Gambia.
Alert:
The WHO also requested that Maiden Pharma products be taken off the market in a medical product alert.
The WHO stated in its advisory that although the items may have been sold in other countries through unofficial marketplaces, they had only been discovered in Gambia.
Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup are the four products covered by the alert.
Laboratory testing:
Laboratory testing revealed "unacceptable" concentrations of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which the WHO warned are dangerous if swallowed.
Due to an increase in cases of acute renal injury among children under the age of five that was noticed in late July, the Gambia's government announced last month that it was also looking into the deaths.
People Dead:
When numerous youngsters in Gambia started developing renal problems three to five days after consuming a paracetamol syrup that was sold locally, medical professionals there raised the alarm in July. 28 people had passed away as of August, but health officials predicted the number would climb. According to the WHO, 66 people are now dead.
The deaths have shocked the little country of West Africa, which is already coping with a number of medical crises like measles and malaria.
Exports:
According to its website, Maiden Pharmaceuticals produces pharmaceuticals at its facilities in India, sells them domestically, and exports them to nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
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