BANJUL: A government taskforce in The Gambia announced on Friday that four cough syrups imported from India were responsible for the deaths of at least 70 children from kidney failure last year.
Health Minister Dr. Ahmadou Lamin Samateh told a news conference that there were failings in regulatory and import checks of the medication, beginning with the products not being registered with the West African country's Medical Control Agency (MCA). The head of the MCA has been dismissed, he said, while also pointing blame at the supervising pharmacist who authorized the syrups' import without sufficient background checks. Beginning last September, The Gambia ordered a recall of several cough and cold medications, as well as all products manufactured by Indian company Maiden Pharmaceuticals, from which the adulterated syrups originated, after the deaths of at least 70 infants. It subsequently banned all products from the firm. The World Health Organization (WHO) said laboratory tests had found "unacceptable amounts" of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. These are commonly used as antifreeze and can be fatal when ingested. The toxic impact from these substances includes "acute kidney injury which may lead to death," the United Nations health agency added.
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