Cough Syrup Leads to Death of Over 300 Kids: WHO Currently Investigates

There has been a report of more than 300 deaths of children in three countries, and there is a possibility that it is caused by contaminated cough syrups.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently investigating whether there is any connection between the deaths involving over 300 kids and manufacturers of cough syrups that were reported to be infected, a trusted source informed Reuters.

These cough syrups were cited to have "unacceptable levels" of toxins.

The WHO is obtaining more information about the specific raw materials utilized by the six manufacturers in India and Indonesia. They are checking if these raw materials produced medicines that could have caused the recent deaths and if these manufacturers have the same raw materials suppliers.

The WHO has not named any of these suppliers.

Children's death need to stop

"This is of the highest priority for us, to see no more child deaths from something that is so preventable," Margaret Harris, WHO spokesperson, declared without detailing the current investigation.

According to Reuters, the WHO has already identified six drugmakers from India and Indonesia producing the syrups, though the news company has emphasized that they have found no evidence of wrongdoing against the companies the WHO has named. The companies have either refused to comment on the said investigation or denied the allegations of using contaminated materials.

In October 2022, the WHO called out Indian manufacturers Maiden Pharmaceuticals and Marion Biotech, issuing alerts to stop using their cough syrup as their syrups were linked to children's death in Gambia. And earlier this month, the organization linked its syrups to children's death in Uzbekistan.

Starting in July 2022, deaths of children were reported due to acute kidney injury. It began in Gambia, and cases in Indonesia and Uzbekistan followed. In previous announcements, the WHO stated that the deaths were connected to cough syrups that were available over the counter and bought for common illnesses. The cough syrups were said to contain a toxin, which was either diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol.

Temporarily stop general cough syrup distribution

The health agency of the United Nations shared Monday that it has already widened its investigation, checking additional four countries - Cambodia, Philippines, East Timor, and Senegal, which may have been selling the same cough syrup products that are contaminated with diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol.

The United Nations calls on all other governments and the global pharmaceutical industry to urgently launch verifications and investigations to ensure that substandard medicines are not offered to the public and encourage them to improve regulation.

The WHO is also weighing whether families should be advised to reevaluate the use of cough syrups for kids in general while some cough syrup products' safety is still unresolved. They are also already evaluating whether such products are "medically necessary" for kids. They are expected to further disclose information regarding the cough syrup situation in a news conference today.