Status: 06.10.2022 15:01
In West Africa’s Gambia, 66 children have died of kidney failure after ingesting cough syrup. The World Health Organization suspects four drugs from India – and warns against their use worldwide.
At least 66 children have died after taking cold medicine in The Gambia. They had previously taken cough and cold syrups and then died of acute kidney damage, health official Mustapha Bittaye told the AP news agency.
The Ministry of Health and the Red Cross of the West African country had mobilized hundreds of helpers who went door to door to secure the suspect drugs. The Gambian health authorities also called for the suspected preparations to no longer be prescribed. According to them, the children affected by kidney failure were under five years old.
Cough syrups from India suspected
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), four medicinal juices made in India are suspected. So far they have only been found in Gambia, but could also have been delivered to other countries. The WHO is investigating with the manufacturer – the Indian company Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited – and the Indian authorities.
WHO issues global warning
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged caution and called on all countries to “detect and phase out these products to prevent further harm to patients.”
The Gambian Ministry of Health had already urged hospitals to stop using paracetamol syrup on September 9 – a month after investigators reported the deaths of at least 28 children aged five months to four years from acute kidney failure.