<p>Flagging yet another instance of a made-in-India contaminated cough syrup sold abroad, the World Health Organisation on Tuesday said Guaifenesin syrup used in Marshall Islands and Micronesia had been found to be spiked with an “unacceptable level” of two contaminants that are not safe for human consumption.</p>.<p>“Samples from Marshall Islands were analysed by quality control laboratories of the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia. The TGA analysis found that the product contained unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants,” the WHO said in an alert.</p>.<p>The syrup’s manufacturer is QP Pharmachem Ltd, Punjab whereas its marketer is Trillium Pharma, Haryana. Neither the manufacturer nor the marketer have provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products.</p>.<p>The UN health body, however, didn’t elaborate on whether anybody in the two Western Pacific nations have fallen sick after consuming the contaminated syrup.</p>.<p>Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal.</p>.<p>The product, according to the WHO, is substandard and unsafe, and its use, especially in children, may result in serious injury or death. Toxic effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death.</p>.<p>This is the third WHO alert on contaminated made-in-India cough syrups in the last seven months after such substandard medicines were linked to children’s deaths in The Gambia in October and Uzbekistan in December.</p>.<p>The two manufacturers – Maiden Pharmaceuticals and Marion Biotech - have been asked to stop production of the cough syrups that reportedly caused the deaths.</p>.<p>In January, the World Health Organisation, citing the incidents linked to the Indian-made cough syrups, called on governments and regulators to improve inspections, market surveillance, and enforce measures to combat the manufacture and distribution of substandard medicines with the purpose of detecting and removing any substandard medical products that have been identified by the WHO as potential causes of deaths and disease.</p>
<p>Flagging yet another instance of a made-in-India contaminated cough syrup sold abroad, the World Health Organisation on Tuesday said Guaifenesin syrup used in Marshall Islands and Micronesia had been found to be spiked with an “unacceptable level” of two contaminants that are not safe for human consumption.</p>.<p>“Samples from Marshall Islands were analysed by quality control laboratories of the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia. The TGA analysis found that the product contained unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants,” the WHO said in an alert.</p>.<p>The syrup’s manufacturer is QP Pharmachem Ltd, Punjab whereas its marketer is Trillium Pharma, Haryana. Neither the manufacturer nor the marketer have provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products.</p>.<p>The UN health body, however, didn’t elaborate on whether anybody in the two Western Pacific nations have fallen sick after consuming the contaminated syrup.</p>.<p>Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal.</p>.<p>The product, according to the WHO, is substandard and unsafe, and its use, especially in children, may result in serious injury or death. Toxic effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death.</p>.<p>This is the third WHO alert on contaminated made-in-India cough syrups in the last seven months after such substandard medicines were linked to children’s deaths in The Gambia in October and Uzbekistan in December.</p>.<p>The two manufacturers – Maiden Pharmaceuticals and Marion Biotech - have been asked to stop production of the cough syrups that reportedly caused the deaths.</p>.<p>In January, the World Health Organisation, citing the incidents linked to the Indian-made cough syrups, called on governments and regulators to improve inspections, market surveillance, and enforce measures to combat the manufacture and distribution of substandard medicines with the purpose of detecting and removing any substandard medical products that have been identified by the WHO as potential causes of deaths and disease.</p>
