The inquiries focus on whether specific ingredients used by six manufacturers in India and Indonesia were supplied by the same suppliers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is investigating whether there is any connection between the manufacturers whose contaminated cough syrups could be behind the deaths of more than 300 children in The Gambia, Indonesia and Uzbekistan. Based on the “unacceptable levels” of toxins that have been detected in the products, the entity is collecting information on the specific raw materials used by six manufacturers in India and Indonesia to produce medicines related to the recent deaths, as well as whether the companies used them. They obtained from the same suppliers, without any name having been disclosed so far.
WHO is also considering advising families around the world to reconsider the use of these cough products for children in general, pending any doubts about their effectiveness or whether their use compromises safety. patient safety, the same sources noted. WHO experts are reviewing the evidence to determine whether these products are medically necessary for children or under what circumstances they should be given.
The first deaths of children from acute kidney injury were detected in July 2022 in The Gambia, followed by cases in Indonesia and Uzbekistan. The WHO has said the deaths are linked to over-the-counter cough syrups the children took for common illnesses that contained a known toxin, either diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol.
To date, the WHO has identified six manufacturers in India and Indonesia that produced the syrups. These manufacturers have declined to comment on the investigation or have denied using contaminated materials that contributed to the deaths. There is also no evidence so far that the aforementioned companies have committed irregularities. “It is of the highest priority for us that there are no more child deaths from something that can be prevented,” WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said.
The United Nations health agency reported earlier this week that it had expanded its investigation into possible diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol contamination in cough syrups to four other countries where the same products may have been on sale: Cambodia, Philippines, East Timor and Senegal. The WHO has called on other governments and the global pharmaceutical industry to put urgent controls in place to remove substandard medicines from circulation and improve the protocols governing their distribution.
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