FDA raises alerts over 3 baby cough syrup and 1 oral solution
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has raised an alert over four paediatric medicines – three baby cough syrups and one baby oral solution – it describes as substandard (contaminated).
In a statement issued by the FDA, the Authority asserts the paediatric medicines contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants.
According to the FDA, diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal.
Toxic effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death.
The caution by the FDA comes on the back of concerns raised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) over the four paediatric medicines.
The four paediatric medicines are identified as Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup, all manufactured in the Gambia.
According to the FDA, the four aforementioned paediatric medicines have not been registered by the Authority and are not expected on the Ghanaian market, “however, they may have been distributed illegally,” added the FDA
Find details of the statement below:
Substandard (Contaminated) Paediatric Medicines Identified in WHO by Fuaad Dodoo on Scribd