The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an alert on Wednesday (October 5th) about cough and cold syrups produced by the Indian laboratory Maiden Pharmaceuticals which may have caused the death of sixty-six children in Gambia and have been distributed in other countries.
It was the director general of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who himself announced this alert during his weekly press conference devoted to health issues in the world.
Contaminated drugs are syrups that “could be linked to acute kidney injury and death of sixty-six children”he explained, before adding: “WHO is investigating with the company and regulators in India. »
Four products are affected: syrups marketed under the name Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup. They are all manufactured by the Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited laboratory.
Products that may have been distributed elsewhere
In the technical document of the alert, the WHO reports that “Laboratory analysis of samples of each of the four products confirms contamination by diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol in unacceptable quantities”.
Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic and can be fatal. The toxic effects can cause, according to the WHO, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, inability to urinate, headache, altered mental status and acute kidney injury which can lead to death.
The Geneva-based organization adds that the four contaminated drugs were identified in The Gambia, but may have been distributed through informal markets elsewhere. “In addition, the manufacturer may have used the same contaminated material in other products and distributed them locally or exported them. A global risk is therefore possible.to have you the WHO.
“All batches of these products should be considered unsafe until they can be analyzed by the relevant national regulatory authorities”, argued the organization. As a precautionary measure, the WHO recommends that all countries detect and withdraw these drugs from circulation.
On September 9, Gambian health authorities said they had opened an investigation in mid-July into the recent deaths of 28 children from acute kidney failure and asked hospitals and clinics to stop using paracetamol syrup.
Authorities had also cited the bacteria E. coli as possible causes, but on September 23 the Gambian health authorities ordered the recall of all medicines containing paracetamol or promethazine syrup.
The Gambia, continental African country with the smallest area, is 174e out of 191 on the United Nations Human Development Index, which aggregates criteria of health, education and standard of living. Nearly half of the approximately 2 million inhabitants live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.