WHO Issues Alert Against Four Indian Cough Syrups

The World Health Organisation issued an alert on Wednesday, 5th of October, over four cough and cold syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals in India.

The World Health Organisation issued an alert on Wednesday, 5th of October, over four cough and cold  syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals in India. It notified that the same could be linked to the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia in West Africa. This notification was issued after the Gambian government last week reported a sudden spike in acute kidney failure. The symptoms include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, bad mental health, and acute kidney injury, which may lead to death. Among all the symptoms, experts are of the opinion that the medicine could have caused a spike in cases of acute kidney failure. Most affected are the children under the age of five who were detected in late July.

Investigators reported the death of at least 28 children aged five months to four years from acute kidney failure. "While the contaminated products have so far only been detected in the Gambia, they may have been distributed to other countries," WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a press conference on Wednesday, 5th of October. He added that the WHO recommends all countries detect and remove these products from circulation to prevent further harm to patients. WHO said that information received from India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation indicated that the manufacturer had only supplied the contaminated medications to Gambia. What do you think about this? Do mention your thoughts in the comment section below.

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