According to the Drug Administration of Vietnam (Ministry of Health), immediately after receiving warning information from the World Health Organization (WHO) about the discovery of a batch of contaminated syrup and medicine in countries in the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and Western Pacific , the Department requested relevant functional departments to review the records.
Through searching the drug registration data, it shows that in Vietnam, the above toxic products have not been granted a registration certificate for circulation.
Many types of cough syrups have been found to be toxic and harmful to patients in many countries, however, these cough syrups are not currently licensed for import into Vietnam (illustrative photo).
At the same time, the above cough syrups and medicines have never had drug registration documents submitted to the Drug Administration and have not been granted an import license.
Previously, WHO discovered a total of 23 batches of toxic syrup products.
The concentration of ethylene glycol in the above drugs ranges from 0.62-0.82%, higher than the permitted level - 0.1%. These drugs are used to treat coughs, allergies and other health problems.
WHO warns that these substandard products are unsafe and that their use, especially in children, can lead to serious injury or death.
Although there have been no cases of health problems related to the product, WHO still calls on countries to increase vigilance and test the product.
In April 2023, Interpol also reported that hundreds of children died or suffered acute kidney injury after using 14 cough syrup products banned in several countries. These products were manufactured in India and Indonesia and contained diethylene.
After receiving the information, the Drug Administration of Vietnam reviewed and confirmed that these products have not been granted a drug circulation registration certificate in Vietnam and have not been granted an import license into Vietnam.
To ensure safety for users, the Ministry of Health requests that units disseminate and notify medical facilities, pharmaceutical facilities in the area, departments and offices at the unit about warning information for the 14 cough syrup products mentioned above. From there, warn about the serious harm if using the product and strictly prohibit its use.
The Ministry of Health also requires localities and medical facilities to increase propaganda in their localities and units about not using drugs that are not licensed for circulation or of unknown origin.
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