TNI Bureau: The government has started a probe into four cough syrups manufactured by a Haryana-based pharmaceutical firm. This came after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that they could be linked to the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia.

According to sources, WHO alerted Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) about the cough syrups. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation immediately took up the matter with the Haryana regulatory authority and launched a detailed investigation.

The cough syrups have been manufactured by M/s Maiden Pharmaceutical Limited in Haryana’s Sonepat, the sources said. They added that as per the information available at this point, it seems the firm had exported these products only to The Gambia. The company is yet to respond to the allegations.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters yesterday that the four cold and cough syrups “have been potentially linked with acute kidney injuries and 66 deaths among children”.

According to the WHO alert, the four products are Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup.

These are toxic to humans and can be fatal, it said, adding that the toxic effect “can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death.”