By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA, has alerted the Nigerian public on contaminated and substandard cough syrups in circulation in Gambia.
The alert was contained in a Public Alert No. 040/2022 – Alert on Substandard (contaminated)
paediatric cough syrups circulating in Gambia issued by the agency, made available to newsmen in Abuja today.
The alert read, the NAFDAC it is notifying Healthcare providers and the public of the death of 66 children in Gambia following the use of four substandard cough syrups as reported by WHO in September 2022.
The four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.
Laboratory analysis of samples of the four products confirms that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants.
Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed and can 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.
The stated manufacturer of these products is Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited (Haryana, India). To date, the stated manufacturer has not provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products.
The cough syrups are as follows Promethazine Oral Solution,
Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup
Magrip N Cold Syrup , and products is said to be manufactured in Haryana, India by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited.
