U.S.-CDC probe into cough syrup deaths in The Gambia pins blame on Indian manufacturer

Source: The post is based on the article “U.S.-CDC probe into cough syrup deaths in The Gambia pins blame on Indian manufacturer” published in The Hindu on 4th March 2023.

What is the News?

The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigation has found that contaminated medications made by India-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals were “associated” with the deaths of 66 children in Gambia,

What is the probe conducted by the US and Gambian Authorities?

A joint probe was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the US and the Gambian health authorities on the link between made-in-India cough syrups to the death of 66 Gambian children.

As per the joint probe report, there was a strong link between the death of many children in Gambia and the consumption of made-in-India cough syrups that were allegedly contaminated.

The investigation strongly suggested that syrups were contaminated with Diethylene Glycol [DEG] or Ethylene Glycol [EG] which led to the Acute Kidney Injury (AKI) cluster among children and eventually the death of 66 children.

What is India’s stand on this?

India has maintained that enough evidence was not provided by The Gambia or WHO to establish a causal link between the deaths and the Indian syrups. The control samples were found to be of standard quality by the Indian drug regulator.