edited by: Revathi Hariharan
Last Update: March 04, 2023, 07:35 AM IST
Union Minister of State for Health Bharti Praveen Pawar had said that the cough syrup samples have been declared of standard quality after testing. (Representational photo)
According to the CDC, last August they were contacted by The Gambia’s Ministry of Health (MOH) to assist in characterizing the disease (several cases of acute kidney injury and death in children).
According to a recent report by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Gambian health officials, there is a strong link between the deaths of several children in The Gambia and allegedly contaminated cough syrup.
In October last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued an alert stating that four cough syrups supplied to The Gambia by India-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd were of substandard quality and alleged that they were being sold to several people in the Gambia. associated with the death of children. ,
A CDC released a report Friday saying that, “This investigation strongly suggests that the drugs are contaminated with diethylene glycol.” [DEG] or ethylene glycol [EG] Acute kidney injury (AKI) cluster in children due to importation into Gambia.”
CDC examines symptoms, causes
The report also states, “Patients with DEG poisoning may experience a variety of signs and symptoms, including altered mental status, headache, and gastrointestinal symptoms; However, the most consistent manifestation is AKI, characterized by oliguria (low urine output) or anuria, progressing in 1–3 days to renal failure (indicated by high serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen).
According to the CDC, in August last year, The Gambia’s Ministry of Health (MOH) provided the characterization of the disease (several cases of acute kidney injury and death in children), to describe the epidemiology, and to assist in the identification of possible causative factors and Contacted him. Source.
The report also states that in past DEG outbreaks, manufacturers are suspected of substituting DEGs with more expensive, pharmaceutical-grade solvents.
It added, “Countries with low resources may not have the human and financial resources to monitor and test imported drugs.”
India rejected the claims
Union Minister of State for Health Bharti Praveen Pawar, in his reply to the Lok Sabha on February 3, had said that after testing, the samples of cough syrup were found to be of standard quality.
Pawar, in a written reply to a question, had said that the samples were found negative for both Diethylene Glycol (DEG) and Ethylene Glycol (EG).
Uzbekistan cough syrup death case
Meanwhile, three employees of Noida-based pharmaceutical firm Marion Biotech were arrested on charges of manufacturing and selling adulterated drugs whose cough syrups had killed 18 children in Uzbekistan last year, officials said.
The drug inspector of the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), North Zone, on Friday issued a notice to Marion Biotech to stop the sale and distribution of the drug in question, stating that the sample was found to be “not of standard quality”. Was. ,
Three employees were arrested after an FIR was lodged late on Thursday night against five officials, including two directors, of Marion Biotech. Officials said that the matter came to light on the complaint of the CDSCO Drug Inspector.
The police is conducting a massive manhunt to arrest the operators of the company.
The complainant drug inspector stated that 22 Marion Biotech products were found to be of substandard quality (adulterated and spurious).
(With PTI inputs)
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