The World Health Organisation (WHO) disseminated a product warning alert on Wednesday for four cold and cough syrups produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals in India during the WHO conference. The organisation warned that these syrups could be one of the significant reasons behind critical kidney injuries and deaths of 66 children of age five in the west African nation, The Gambia.
As per the reports, the World Health Organisation has appealed to the relevant authorities to investigate the working mechanism with the company and regulatory authorities in India.
In a statement, World Health Organisation (WHO) said, “Laboratory analysis of samples of each of the four products affirms that they contain inappropriate amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants.”
During the conference address on Wednesday, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, said that these cough and cold syrups, manufactured in India are said to be the reason linked with critical kidney injuries and leading to the deaths of 66 children in the west African nation, The Gambia.
The director general of WHO added that the organisation is investigating how many countries these cough syrups are being circulated and how many people are affected due to these harmful cold syrups.
Reuters reported that the Delhi-based medicine manufacturers had declined to comment about this incident.
The government of Gambia said that its authorities have been working on investigating the reason behind the sudden spike in acute kidney injuries among the age of five from late July.
According to the sources, Maiden manufactured and exported the syrup only to the West African nations.
In addition, sources added that India’s Government has asked WHO to share the report of the cold and cough syrups linked to the death of children in the Gambia.