Rash of child deaths in Gambia 2022

Rash of child deaths in Gambia

The World Health Organization stated on Wednesday that contaminated cough and cold syrups produced by an Indian medication manufacturer may be responsible for the acute kidney damage that caused the deaths of hundreds of young children in the Gambia.

The results were revealed by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and came as a result of tests on multiple medical syrups suspected of being the cause of 66 infant deaths in the small West African nation.

In collaboration with Indian regulators and the manufacturer of the syrups, Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. of New Delhi, the U.N. body was looking into the matter.

Maiden Pharma declined to comment, and the Drugs Controller General of India did not return calls or texts. An inquiry for comment was not answered by the health ministry of India.

Cough and cold syrup

On Wednesday, the WHO published a medical product warning requesting regulators to yank Maiden Pharma products off the shelves.

According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), an investigation is currently being conducted by the UN agency, Indian regulators, and the drug’s manufacturer, Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. of Delhi. According to sources of Al Jazeera, Maiden Pharma declined to make a statement regarding the alarm. According to reports, the health ministries of India and Gambia both declined to give a prompt response to a request for comment. Additionally, the WHO issued a medical product warning directing authorities to remove Maiden Pharma’s products from the market.

WHO Alert Pushes! Four other items are covered by the aforementioned warning: Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Promethazine Oral Solution, Magrip N Cold Syrup, and Makoff Baby Cough Syrup. Laboratory testing supported “unacceptable” concentrations, according to the WHO.

of potentially hazardous substances like ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol. In the meantime, the Gambia’s government asserted last month that it was also looking into the deaths after a rise in cases of acute renal injury among children under five years old was discovered in late July of this year.

What happened in Gambia?

Medical professionals in The Gambia raised the alarm in July after some kids started developing kidney problems three to five days after consuming paracetamol syrup that was available locally. 28 people had passed away as of August, but health officials predicted the number would climb. According to the WHO, 66 people are now dead.

Ahmadou Lamin Samateh, the Gambia’s health minister, told reporters in Banjul on Saturday that the number of children who have died from kidney damage connected to tainted cough syrups supplied in India has increased to 69.

According to Samateh, who reported losing his nephew to acute kidney damage on Wednesday, three more children had passed away as of Saturday, bringing the total to 69. Adama Barrow, the president of the Gambia, had claimed a day earlier that cases and fatalities were “under control, with just two diagnoses in the last two weeks.”

Children between the ages of 5 months and 4 years who reported to hospitals with acute renal injury have increased “suddenly,” according to information provided to the nation’s Epidemiology and Disease Control Department. Local authorities reported 32 cases and 28 deaths by the end of August, with a case-fatality ratio of 87.5%.

What functions do ethylene and diethylene glycol serve?

The solvent used to make the syrups may contain both of these chemical pollutants. It is poisonous to humans and can cause headaches, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, changed mental status, and stomach pain. An acute renal injury that may be deadly in youngsters can also result from it. After ingesting a syrup with high amounts of diethylene glycogen in 2020, 17 kids perished in Jammu and Kashmir.

The largest teaching hospital in the nation, Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, stated in a news release from the beginning of August that a child’s outpatient care was being monitored for a rare ailment. The afflicted children’s samples were taken, and the lab is still processing its findings.

Is there cause for concern?

No. The company with its headquarters in Haryana solely produced the four medications for shipment to The Gambia. It is illegal to make and sell these four medicines in India. According to a declaration from the Union Health Ministry, none of these four medications are really supplied locally. An official claimed that after obtaining a purchase order, the company obtained special clearance to manufacture the drugs with the export country’s requirements in mind.