BackCough syrup linked to death of 12 kids in Cameroon likely made in India. Know more
A variety of cough syrup suspected by Cameroonian authorities of killing a dozen children in the central African country in recent months bears markings indicating it was made in India.
PremiumMore than a dozen children have passed away in Cameroon over the past few months with authorities linking it to a cough syrup potentially made in India. Photos of the medication box have revealed a manufacturing license number that matches Indore-based Riemann Labs. The company however stressed on its use of strict quality controls and noted that counterfeiting was common.
The revelation raises the prospect of a third mass death event linked to exported Indian cough syrups in less than a year.
Toxic cough syrups have become a growing threat in recent months with the United Nations so far linking nine countries to the sale of tainted syrups. The deaths of more than 300 infants on three continents were linked to the drugs last year.
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Photos provided by a health official in Cameroon indicated that the boxes of Naturcold medication bore the relevant license number - albeit without a manufacturer's name. Riemann director Navin Bhatia told Bloomberg during an interview that the drugs in the photo “look like ours.".
“They look like ours, but we cannot be sure. There is so much duplicacy there. Based on the quality of our product, it is doubtful. I am 110% sure that my product is not contaminated — what we sent from here. We pay extra attention to quality. Everything is done to ensure safety," the publication quoted him as saying.
(With inputs from agencies)
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