Gambia government's U-turn in 70 children's death case: Said - Indian cough syrup has not confirmed the death of children

Posted on 3rd Nov 2022 by rohit kumar

The Gambia has seen a major U-turn in the alleged deaths of 70 children from Indian cough syrups. The Gambia has not yet confirmed that cough medicine made in India is the cause of death in children. Reuters has given this information, quoting the Medicines Control Agency of The Gambia. Tejan Jello, the representative of the Gambia Medicines Control Agency, said at a press conference on October 31, "It is not yet confirmed that the Indian cough syrup caused kidney damage in children." We are trying to find out the exact cause of death of the children. So far it is known that 70 children died due to cough medicine.

 

Many such children have also died who did not take any medicine. There are some children among those who died, who were taking some other medicine. We have tested that medicine and have found that it is a good medicine. So we haven't been able to reach any conclusion so far.

 

A few days ago 70 children died in The Gambia. Later it was found that the children died due to kidney infections. These deaths were linked to cough syrups made in India. On 5 October, the World Health Organization issued an alert regarding 4 cough syrups from Maiden Pharmaceuticals of India. The WHO said Maiden Pharmaceuticals' Promethazine Oral Solution, Cofaxmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Macoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup are of poor quality.

 

The WHO said that 66 children in the Gambia have died due to deteriorating kidney conditions. Children may have died due to the use of these syrups. These products are currently only found in The Gambia. WHO has issued a medical product alert. This is very serious not only for countries like Gambia but also for India.

 

The WHO said in the report that cough syrup contains such amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol that the reasons can be fatal to humans. 33 including children have lost their lives in India due to these compounds, but these compounds have not been banned.

 

Following WHO's warning, the Gambian government asked people not to use these four cough syrups as deadly. Apart from the Gambia, many other countries also banned these drugs.

 

If the matter is related to children, then the meaning of the alert becomes wider. There are many questions .. like the detailed report of WHO, the Indian company where they were produced, are these syrups being sold in India too, are they dangerous?

 

Company shuts down website: Soon after the alert was issued, Bhaskar interacted with medical experts and officials. It was learned that the company whose syrup is in question has closed the website so that people can not get much information.

 

The compounds mentioned increase the taste: Pediatrician Dr. Vivek Sharma told that the compound diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol mentioned in the WHO report is a carbon compounds. It has neither fragrance nor color. It is sweet. It is added to children's syrups only so that they can drink easily.

 

Deadly in case of overdose: This compound can be mixed in medicines up to a maximum of 0.14 mg per kg. Mixing more than 1 gram per kg can cause death. WHO or these companies did not disclose the amount of these compounds in the drugs that caused death.

 

The effect of these compounds on humans occurs in 3 phases. First phase: Vomiting-diarrhea, abdominal pain in the first two days. The mind starts going numb. It is also called a minor coma.

 

Second phase: Kidney failure occurs on the third-fourth day. Unable to pass urine. Blood pressure increases. The heart rate also becomes irregular.

 

Third phase: Paralysis can occur from the fifth to the tenth day. The person can go into a deep coma. There can be deadly too. If once the patient becomes serious due to these compounds, even if he is saved, then there is a problem with the kidney. He may also need dialysis.

 

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