The Uzbekistan government has alleged that 18 children have died in the Central Asian country after consuming cough syrup manufactured by Marion Biotech, an Indian pharmaceutical company.
“So far, 18 out of 21 children with acute respiratory illness have died as a result of taking Doctor-1 Max syrup manufactured by the Indian company Marion Biotech Pvt Ltd,” the Uzbekistan Ministry of Health said in a statement.
“It was found that the deceased children took this drug at home, 2.5-5 ml, 3-4 times a day for 2-7 days before hospitalization, which is more than the standard dosage of the drug for children. “
Sources in the Union health ministry did not respond to DH’s queries on the incident. Nevertheless, he said a file was placed before Health Minister Manush Mandaviya, who also heads the Department of Pharmaceuticals as Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers. Noida-based Marion Biotech also did not respond to phone calls.
The Uzbekistan Ministry of Health’s press statement identified two factors behind the tragedy – drug overdoses in children who did not need the medicine and contamination of ethylene glycol – one of two toxic chemicals found in the Gambian case .
“All children were given the drug without a prescription. Since the main component of the drug is paracetamol, Doctor-1 Max syrup was erroneously used by parents as an anti-cold remedy or on the recommendation of pharmacy vendors It was. The reason for the deterioration of the patients’ condition, the Uzbek ministry said.
“Preliminary laboratory studies have shown that this series of Doctor-1 Max syrups contain Ethylene Glycol. This substance is toxic, and about 1-2 ml/kg of 95% concentrated solution can cause serious changes in the patient’s health There are, as Uzbekistan officials said, vomiting, fainting, convulsions, cardiac problems and acute kidney failure.
In October the World Health Organization flagged the presence of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol as toxic contaminants in four cough syrup samples (made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals, Haryana) that were reportedly linked to the deaths of 70 children in The Gambia Were. But this was not the first time that EG and DEG were found in cough syrups made in India, as there have been several such cases in the past too, with fatal consequences.
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