Geneva, October 5: The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a medical product alert on four cough and cold syrups made by India's Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited.
The WHO said these "substandard" products were unsafe, especially in children, and might result in serious injury or death. A WHO report claimed that to date, these four products had been identified in The Gambia, but might have been distributed, through informal markets, to other countries or regions.
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It was conducting further investigation with the company and regulatory authorities in India. "This WHO Medical Product Alert refers to four substandard products, identified in The Gambia and reported to WHO in September 2022. Substandard medical products are products that fail to meet either their quality standards or specifications and are, therefore "out of specification," the WHO said.
The manufacturer of these products was Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited based out of Haryana, India, the WHO said, and gave out the names of the products. "The four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup," it added.
To date, the international health organisation said, "The stated manufacturer has not provided guarantees to the WHO on the safety and quality of these products."
Laboratory analysis of samples of each of the four products confirms that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants. Citing risks, it said Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol were toxic to humans when consumed and could prove fatal.
"Toxic effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state, and acute kidney injury which may lead to death," it noted.
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All batches of these products should be considered unsafe until they can be analysed by the relevant National Regulatory Authorities, the WHO warned, and added that the substandard products referenced in the alert were unsafe and their use, especially in children, might result in serious injury or death.
Giving out a clear warning, the WHO said if you had these substandard products, please "DO NOT use them."
-PTC News with ANI inputs
