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| WHO warns of global threat from contaminated cough syrup for children. (Source: AFP) |
Rutendo Kuwana, head of the WHO team on substandard and falsified medicines, declined to name the six new countries the organization is working with, citing ongoing investigations. It could take years to find drugs containing the toxic ingredient, Kuwana said, as many contaminated containers may still be in storage.
Some pharmaceutical experts believe that unscrupulous manufacturers have replaced the propylene glycol commonly used in cough syrups with other toxic substances because they are cheaper. This is also believed to be the cause of the deaths of more than 300 children in many countries.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers, including those accused of producing the tainted syrups found so far, typically source their ingredients from outside suppliers. There is currently no risk to people in the countries named by WHO, Kuwana said. He explained that the tainted syrups had been recalled or intercepted at the time of import.
Since 2001, WHO has recommended that cough syrups should not be given to children under 5 years of age, as there is little evidence to support their effectiveness and the side effects they may cause are not yet clear.
Indian authorities have launched an investigation into alleged bribery linked to a tainted cough syrup that is believed to have killed dozens of children in Gambia and Uzbekistan. The Indian-made cough syrup is believed to have been linked to 70 deaths in Gambia and 18 deaths in Uzbekistan from acute kidney injury.
Cameroon's health authority also opened an investigation in April into the deaths of six children linked to a cough syrup branded Naturcold, whose manufacturer is listed as China's Fraken Group.
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