Four kinds of Indian-made cough syrup medicines have been banned by the World Health Organisation (WHO). SUPPLIED
The Ministry of Health said that four kinds of Indian-made cough syrup medicines which have been banned by the World Health Organisation (WHO) after they caused scores of deaths in The Gambia earlier this month are not registered with the ministry for sale or distribution in Cambodia.
In an alert on October 5, the WHO said that substandard or contaminated paediatric medicines were recently distributed in Africa, including The Gambia.
It said the four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup. The manufacturer of these products is Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd of Haryana, India.
“Laboratory analysis of samples of each of the four products confirms that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants. To date, these four products have been identified in The Gambia, but they may have been distributed, through informal or secondary markets, to other countries or regions,” it said.
Citing the WHO, media reports have stated that these cough syrups were involved in the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia.
The four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup. The manufacturer of these products is Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd of Haryana, India. SUPPLIED
Health ministry spokeswoman Or Vandine told The Post on October 7 that these four types of cough syrups have not been registered with the ministry and are not legally available for sale in Cambodia.
“We don’t have the above medicines registered with the Ministry of Health,” she said.
Media reports say that the government of India claimed that the four types of cough syrup have not been exported to countries other than The Gambia, but Reuters said that workers at the Indian company have said that they distributed the medicines to other countries in Africa and other regions such as Asia and Latin America.
Phan Oun, director-general of the Consumer Protection Competition and Fraud Repression Directorate-General (CCF), told The Post on October 9 that the health ministry’s procedures should have prevented any importations of these products following the reported incidents in Africa.
Although measures at the first stage have most likely been taken by the health ministry, Oun said that the CCF will keep an eye on the markets and pharmacies to ensure that this manufacturer and these brands of cough syrup are not illegally available in Cambodia to avoid health dangers to the public, especially children.
“CCF will keep watching to see if we eventually see those products in the markets or retail shops as a result of any loopholes. When we go to inspect the products at marts and depos we will also look for those products to ensure that they are not available in Cambodia,” he said.
