Deadly Cough Syrup: A poisonous substance has been found in medicines on several continents
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Allergy and cough syrups that contain a toxic substance that can cause death in children have been found in the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and the western Pacific.
This was announced by the World Health Organization (WHO), writes Reuters.
The WHO previously linked the deaths of more than 300 children in Gambia, Indonesia and Uzbekistan to the use of cough syrups produced by six Indian and Indonesian pharmaceutical companies.
Now the WHO has also discovered low-quality syrups produced by the Pakistani company Pharmix Laboratories.
| Photo: Syda_Productions/Depositphotos |
They contain a critically high content of ethylene glycol – an organic compound used in the production of coolants for car engines (antifreeze).
The level of contamination with ethylene glycol in medicinal products ranges from 0.62% to 0.82%, while the permissible level is no more than 0.10%.
During a routine inspection at the production facilities of Pharmix Laboratories, conducted by the Food and Drug Administration of the Maldives in November this year, the poisonous substance was found in the cough syrup Alergo.
A further inspection initiated by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan revealed that a number of the pharmaceutical company’s other medicinal products also contained ethylene glycol. The agency has ordered Pharmix Laboratories to stop production of all oral liquid medications.
As reported by the WHO, the poisonous substance was found in 23 batches of Allergo, Mukorid, Tsincell syrups and Emidon and Ulkofin suspensions.
“These substandard medicines are dangerous and their use, especially in children, can lead to serious side effects or death“, the WHO warned.
It will be recalled that the connection between the deaths of children and medicines was first discovered in October 2022, when the WHO sent out a warning that four cough syrups produced by the Indian company Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd contained a known toxin – diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol.
Maiden has denied that its drugs caused the deaths in Gambia, and the Indian government has said that testing of the syrups found no contamination.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also concluded that cough syrups are likely to be responsible for the deaths of children in The Gambia.
Last year, Indonesia stopped selling all syrups and liquid medicines after the deaths of nearly 100 children and an unexplained spike in cases of acute kidney injury.
And in November 2023, a court in Indonesia proved the connection between the deaths of 200 children and cough syrups, and the guilty were sentenced.
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