Publisher: Hamza Rajput
Designer: Umer
‘’The World Health Organization has issued a warning against the use of two Indian cough
syrups for children that have been linked to deaths in Uzbekistan’’.
The WHO said Marion Biotech's equipment was "substandard" and that the company had failed to ensure safety.
The warning comes just weeks after Uzbekistan claimed 18 children had died after drinking syrup
made by the business.
Marion Biotech has denied the recent allegations.
In an emailed comment to the BBC, the company said it "does not agree" with the WHO's findings
and that it is cooperating with the Indian government's inquiries.
After the deaths were reported in Uzbekistan, India's health government halted
manufacturing at the firm. Food safety authorities in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where Marion
Biotech is based, also suspended the company's production license this week.
According to a WHO notice published on Thursday, quality control laboratories of the Ministry of
Health of Uzbekistan detected prohibited concentrations of two contaminants - "diethylene glycol and/or ethylene
glycol" - in two cough syrups - Embronol and Doc-1 Max. found out Of
Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans and, if ingested, can be fatal.
Both of these products may receive marketing authorization in additional countries in the region.
According to the WHO, these can be distributed to other nations or regions through informal markets.
"Inferior substances" were considered "unsafe" and their use, especially by young people, could
cause serious harm or death.
Marion Biotech told the BBC that it had followed "approved protocols" when making the "syrup in
question" and that it disagreed with the WHO's findings that "Doc-1max syrup contains ethylene
glycol." The remains were there."
However, the statement did not mention the company's opinion on Ambronol, another cough syrup.
The corporation further asserted that 20,000 100ml bottles of Doc-1 Max cough syrup were "delivered to the entire geography of Uzbekistan" but that "fatalities were recorded
only in one geographical area of Samarkand".
He said the company received about 1,500 bottles after the syrup was recalled, indicating that the
"balance" was consumed without adverse effects.
Further, he argued that these "facts" show that "there is more to child deaths" than "just chalking it
up to syrup".
India is known as the "Pharmacy of the World" as it produces one-third of the world's medicines,
which meet a large portion of the medical needs of poor countries. It is one of the fastest-growing
pharmaceutical businesses in the country.
However, the business came under severe scrutiny when cough syrups produced by Indian companies
were linked to child deaths in other countries.
In October, the WHO issued a similar warning, linking four cough syrups made by another
Indian company to the deaths of 66 children in Gambia from kidney damage.
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