Health officials in The Gambia say they have identified four cough syrups imported from India that were responsible for the deaths of at least 70 children who suffered kidney failure last year.

At a news conference, Health Minister Dr Ahmadou Lamin Samateh stated that there were deficiencies in the regulatory and import checks of the medication, beginning with the products not being registered with the West African country’s Medical Control Agency (MCA).

He said the head of the Medical Control Agency had been sacked while blaming the supervising pharmacist for authorizing the import of the medications without running adequate background checks.

Following the deaths of at least 70 newborns, The Gambia ordered the recall of many cough and cold treatments, as well as all goods manufactured by the Indian laboratory Maiden Pharmaceuticals, from which the tainted syrups came last year.

It then banned all products from the Indian company.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lab tests found “unacceptable amounts” of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which are commonly used as antifreeze and can be fatal when ingested.

The World Health Organisations also raised a similar alarm in Cameroon and kept neighbouring countries including Nigeria on alert to watch out for toxic cough syrups.

The toxic impact from these substances includes “acute kidney injury which may lead to death.”

Reuters