The World Health Organization (WHO) has asked the Indian authorities to confirm whether a cough syrup is connected to the death of 17 children – found to contain toxic diethylene glycol – was exported because New Delhi encouraged the public to avoid two more brands.
The children died in India in the past month after consuming cough medicine with poisonous diethylene glycol in quantities almost 500 times the permissible limit, officials say. The dead were all linked to the Coldrif Medicine, prohibited after a test confirmed the presence of the chemical substance on 2 October.
The respifresses and relife -siropen also contain diethylene glycol, according to a public alert by Gujarat and other states on Wednesday that it described as “a toxic chemical that can cause serious poisoning, including kidney failure, neurological complications and even death, especially in children”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Reuters that it was looking for clarification of New Delhi about whether a cough syrup has been exported to the dead to other countries.
They advise against cough, cold medicines for children
Coldrif, made by the manufacturer of the Sresan pharmaceutical manufacturer, was only sold locally, according to a government document that was seen by Reuters. Gujarat officials said that the other two syrups were sold in other Indian states, but not referred to exports. The companies and drug officials did not respond to questions about whether the other two syrups were also exported.
The WHO said that it warns the need for global medical products on ColdreF syrup as soon as the official confirmation of the Indian authorities receives.
The UN health agency continues to advise against the use of cough and cold medicines for children.
Earlier, the drug controller -general of the country, Rajeev Raghuvanshi, said that the regulator had seriously found in factories that had made the medicines in checks that showed that they had not tested any party medicinal ingredients.
In the advice of 7 October and posted on a government website, Raghuvanshi did not mention any companies or the number of those found to have asked for rules, but said that the inspections had been carried out at companies whose medicines had previously proved to be under standard quality.
According to the law, Indian drug makers must test each batch of raw materials and the end product. Since 2023, export of cough syrups needs a low tests to laboratories smeared by the government, after the death of more than 140 children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon connected to Indian syrups.
Abandoned factory
Reuters could not contact the Sresan Chief G Ranganathan, whose office and factory in the southern state of Tamil Nadu were closed. The police are investigating the company for manslaughter, the sale of the syrup is prohibited and the central authorities have recommended to cancel the Sresan production license.
Reuters saw drug inspectors pasting a message on the peeling walls of the Sresan facility, in the industrial district of Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, who asked for details, including how the medicine was produced and where the ingredients were from.
No one was present to answer the officials. Behind the facility were syrup bottles and burnt drugs underground, with a sharp chemical scent in the air.
The Ministry of Health said on Sunday that the authorities carried out inspections in 19 other production units in six states.
Two of the companies inspected were Relife manufacturer Shape Pharma and Respifresh Maker Rednex Pharmaceuticals, based in Gujarat, an important pharmaceutical production hub. State authorities said on Tuesday that samples of cough syrups produced by the companies turned out to be “not of standard quality”.
State and Federal Inspectors did not identify – specificed shortcomings and ordered an immediate termination of all production and distribution. Shape and Rednex did not respond to requests for comments.
Ethylene or diethylene glycoltoxins were found in Indian-made cough areas that children have killed in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since 2022, and 12 children in India in 2019, which damaged the image of the world’s third largest drug production production.
The pharmaceutical industry of India, which only exceeds the US and China in size, is appreciated at $ 50 billion. More than half of the value comes from exports.
India supplies 40% of generic medicines used in the US and more than 90% of all medicines in many African countries.
