Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Cough-syrup scandal: How did it end up killing 70 children in The Gambia?

The tragedy in the west African state became even bigger after reports of deaths of more than 130 people, mostly children, after consuming harmful substances in medicinal syrups, were reported from Indonesia.

Cough-syrup scandal: How did it end up killing 70 children in The Gambia?

The director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said earlier this month that ingredients in four cough syrups manufactured in India may have been linked to acute kidney injuries and deaths of 66 kids in the west African country of The Gambia and that the products might have also been sent to other nations.

The issue soon exploded and authorities in India launched an investigation and stopped all production by the company that made the syrups.


Fast forward and this week, authorities in Indonesia have been found to ban sale of all cough syrups across the country. They have also started a probe into the deaths of over 130 people -- mostly children affected with acute kidney injuries this year. There has been no proof yet that the tainted medicine was responsible for those deaths even though contaminated cough syrups have been found in some of the children's homes, the New York Times reported.

It has been alleged that the four medicines linked to the deaths in The Gambia were manufactured by Maiden Pharmaceuticals in New Delhi which exports medicines to various developing countries.

On October 5, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency was carrying out an investigation. The same day, a medical product alert was issued in which the body said that analysis of the four medicines had found "unacceptable" levels of the toxic diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. The Gambian health authorities did not waste any time to recall all the four products.

What the Gambian police said

The Gambian police later said that the deaths of the children from acute kidney injuries were linked to the cough syrups manufactured by the Indian company, the Times report said.

The Indian authorities recently said they suspended all manufacturing by the firm after finding violations at its factory in the northern state of Haryana, outside New Delhi. According to the state drug regulator, the tainted products sold in The Gambia were made in the Haryana factory in December last year.

The Indian government set up a committee to probe the tainted medicines and the children's deaths in The Gambia. Maiden Pharmaceuticals said it was cooperating with the investigators.

No proof yet that Indonesian deaths are related

However, there is no evidence as of now that the deaths in Indonesia are related.

While the Indonesian authorities banned the syrup-based medications and probing the deaths, the country's health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin on Friday (21) said that cough syrups having diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol were found in some of the homes where the children died.

Penny K Lukito, the chief of Indonesia’s food and drug agency, said earlier that no products made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals, including the four medicines linked to The Gambia deaths, were registered in the South-east Asian nation, the Times report added.

It is very unlikely that an imported drug could be legally sold in Indonesia without getting registered.

While India has said that Maiden Pharmaceuticals' tainted products were sent only to the African country, the WHO alleged that they may have been distributed to other countries as well.

Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are clear, colourless, and syrupy alcohols that are used for antifreeze and other industrial applications.

The effects of consuming them can cause headache, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and inability to pass urine. The chemicals can also cause harm to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system.

In the past, diethylene glycol has been a cheap substitute for glycerin.

There have been instances of mass poisonings in the past.

More than 80 children died in Nigeria in 2009 after taking a medicine for teething pain that had diethylene glycol. In 1998, more than 40 children died in India in two separate instances for taking medicines that contained diethylene glycol.

Gambia deaths a blow for 'pharmacy of the world'

India supplies 45 per cent of all generic medicines to Africa and the tragedy in The Gambia is a blow to the image of the South Asian nation which is known to be the "pharmacy of the world".

The Indian government was not taking the matter lightly, Reuters cited one of the country's health officials as saying. On the condition of anonymity, he said the government would not tolerate any wrongdoing but at the same time, it was important to know what exactly happened in The Gambia. He refused to agree with criticism that health regulations in India, especially at the state levels, were not strict.

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less