New Delhi: WHO has issued a medical product alert regarding some medicines made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals of India. The World Health Organization says that people are getting kidney disease because of the decongestant medicine of Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. The organization has also claimed that 66 children died due to this drug in The Gambia.
“Laboratory analysis of samples from each of the four products confirms that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol,” the WHO said in a medical product alert. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO has issued a medical product alert for four contaminated drugs identified in The Gambia as potentially linked to serious kidney injuries and 66 deaths in children. The death of these children is a great shock to their families.
The World Health Organization has said that the investigation is being done together with the company and the Regulatory Authority of India. According to Reuters, there has been no response from the pharmaceutical company regarding the matter so far. The four drugs for which the alert has been issued by the WHO are Promethazine Oral Solution, Cofaxmaline Baby Cough Syrup, Mekoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Cough Syrup. Regarding these medicines, it has also been said that even the pharmaceutical company does not give any guarantee of these products. When tested in the lab, it was found that the amount of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol in them is very high.
According to reports, due to the toxic effect of this element in the medicine, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, urinary obstruction, and headache, effect on the brain and kidneys are affected. At the same time, the health organization says that these medicines should not be used until the authority of the country concerned is fully investigated. This can lead to other life-threatening diseases.
