Govt says cough syrups linked to deaths in Gambia not sold in India, orders probe

The Centre has ordered a probe following the WHO’s alert on four cough syrups linked to deaths in the Gambia.

India
By Rohini Rajhansh

The Union Health Ministry said that the samples of cough syrups allegedly linked to the death of children in Gambia have been sent for testing. The government, however, underlined that these syrups were made only for exports and not sold in India.

The World Health Organisation issued a medical product alert for four cough syrups, manufactured in Haryana’s Sonepat, claiming they have been potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children in the Gambia.

Following this, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) launched a probe and ordered a detailed investigation against the cough and cold syrups produced and exported to the Gambia.

Here are the top developments in this story.

1. In a statement, the Health Ministry said that the WHO informed the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) that it was providing technical assistance and advice to the Gambia, where children have died. The WHO suspected the deaths were linked to the use of medicines which may have been contaminated with Diethylene glycol or Ethylene glycol, which is a toxic substance and has been associated with several cases of mass poisoning.

2. According to the preliminary investigation, it has been made out that M/s Maiden Pharmaceutical Limited, the manufacturer in Sonepat, produced the four syrups in question — Promethazine Oral Solution BP, Kofexnalin Baby Cough Syrup, MaKoff Baby Cough Syrup and MaGrip n Cold Syrup. The company was licensed by the State Drug Controller for manufacturing these products and export them only to the Gambia.

3. In a statement, the government said that samples of the four syrups have been sent for testing to Regional Drug Testing Lab, Chandigarh by CDSCO, the results of which will guide further course of action.

4. The samples have also been sent to the Central Drugs Laboratory in Kolkata for examination, said Haryana’s Health Minister Anil Vij. The minister also said that these drugs were not available for sale or marketing in India and were only meant for export.

5. The Health Ministry also said that the WHO neither provided the exact “one-to-one causal relation of death” nor did it share the details of labels and products in question with the CDSCO.

6. Naresh Kumar Goyal, one of the directors at Maiden, told Reuters that it heard about the deaths only on Thursday morning. “We are trying to find out the situation because it cropped up only today. We are trying to find out with the buyer and all that what has happened exactly. We are not selling anything in India,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

Rohini Rajhansh
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