After the World Health Organization (WHO) raised an alert on Punjab-made cough syrup, the Indian health regulator confirmed the presence of contamination, News18 learnt on Wednesday.
On April 25, the WHO issued a Medical Product Alert on a batch of substandard (contaminated) Guaifenesin TG syrup found in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. The cough syrup is manufactured by Punjab’s QP Pharmachem and marketed by Haryana-based Trillium Pharma.
"The samples of two different products were collected including the one that is the cough syrup in question. The cough syrup has been found contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol,” a senior official privy to the development told News18. “The samples have been taken from control samples. The product was only used for the purpose of exports whose export licence was obtained in 2020.”
Following the laboratory reports confirming the presence of DEG and EG, the production of the liquid products has been suspended by the drug regulator of Punjab.
Guaifenesin is an expectorant used to relieve chest congestion and cough symptoms.
According to the alert issued by WHO, “Samples of the Guaifenesin 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.”
India has been under global scanner over complaints of contamination of DEG in cough syrups.
In October, WHO raised an alert when Gambia reported the death of children due to consumption of made-in-India cough syrup contaminated with DEG, followed by another complaint levelled by Uzbekistan in January. Uzbek authorities also complained of deaths among children post-consumption of cough syrup laced with toxic DEG.
Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal.
Toxic effects of medical products laced with DEG include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state, and acute kidney injury, which may lead to death.
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