WHO alert on 4 Indian cough syrups containing diethylene glycol, know why is it dangerous

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday warned that four "contaminated" and "substandard" cough syrups allegedly produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited based in Haryana's Sonepat could be the reason for the deaths of the 66 Children in Gambia, West African.

“The four medicines are cough and cold syrups produced by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited, in India. They failed the test as they have unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants”, the global health agency stated.  

What is diethylene glycol and why is it dangerous?

It is important to understand why ingesting these cough syrups became fatal for dozens of innocent children. Two chemicals have been responsible for the deaths of these children – Diethylene glycol and Ethylene glycol. These compounds are completely colourless and odourless, but make the cough syrup taste sweet and appealing to children.

Diethylene glycol and Ethylene glycol chemicals, if ingested in higher quantities, can cause directly affect the kidney of the person and can cause kidney failure in the later stage, also leading to paralysis in some cases. Since the quantity of both chemicals in four of the cough syrups was high, it is suspected to be the cause of the deaths of 66 children in the Gambia.

According to a paper in the National Library of Medicine under the National Center for Biotechnology Information, the chemical is used in antifreeze, brake fluids, cosmetics, and lubricants and causes renal insufficiency and failure and could even lead to coma and death.

The chemical tastes sweet and is water-insoluble. The toxic effects of the chemical include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state, and acute kidney injury. The NIH paper pointed to at least 10 mass poisoning events that have taken place due to the toxic chemical in the past.

India's National Drug Regulator i.e. CDSCO also started investigating the matter. In the initial investigation of CDSCO, it has been found that the medicines of Maiden Pharma, which are controversial, were approved by the State Drug Control Authority of Haryana. These drugs were only being exported to the Gambia.

(With inputs from agencies)