Jamaica is on alert for contaminated cough syrups that the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned may be linked to the deaths of 66 children in the African country of Gambia.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) says the possibility of the items entering Jamaica is remote. The four cough and cold syrups, Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup, are made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals in India.
“Our records indicate that neither the manufacturer nor the product is registered with the Ministry of Health & Wellness,” Minister of Health & Wellness, Dr Christopher Tufton, stated in a press release.
The manufacturers are yet to provide guarantees to the WHO on the safety and quality of the products. Laboratory analysis of samples of the products, “confirms that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants.”
“Our pharmacovigilance system has already alerted the Standards & Regulation Division of the ministry and our Import Permit Department is monitoring all donations and personal imports to further reduce the risk of the product entering the country,” Dr Tufton stated.
WHO is currently pursuing investigations with the company and regulatory authorities in India, although the contaminated products have so far only been detected in Gambia,
