“Samples of the GUAIFENESIN SYRUP TG SYRUP from the Marshall Islands were analysed by quality control laboratories of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) of Australia. The analysis found that the product contained unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants,” an official statement from the WHO says.
The WHO says the batch of contaminated syrups were identified in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.
The said syrup is given to relieve chest congestion and cough symptoms.
The marketer of the syrup is Haryana based Trillium Pharma. “To date, neither the stated manufacturer nor the marketer have provided guarantees to WHO on the safety and quality of these products,” the UN health agency says.
Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans and can sometimes have fatal effects. Consuming these compounds can cause several complications like abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death.
“We did not send these bottles to the Pacific region, and they were not certified for use there. We don’t know under what circumstances and conditions these bottles reached the Marshall Islands and Micronesia,” Sudhir Pathak, managing director of QP Pharmachem, told the BBC.
Earlier several Indian pharmaceutical companies were under scanner for substandard quality. In October 2022, WHO had tracked Indian made cough syrup made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals that had claimed lives of 66 children in The Gambia and Uzbekistan.