Poisonous cough syrup: Stirred by the name of another pharmaceutical company

The World Health Organization says that toxic cough syrup remains a threat to the world. Nigeria's Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control said in a notification on June 17 that toxic substances were found in a batch of oral paracetamol suspension manufactured by Mumbai-based Sincare. Para Clear Suspension 125 manufactured by a Mumbai-based company is imported by BVM Pharmaceutical, Liberia. Liberia has seized 250 cartons of Para Clear, which contains toxic ethylene glycol, following an investigation. There is no facility for drug testing in Liberia.

On the other hand, the World Health Organization says that toxic cough medicine remains a threat to the world. The WHO says it is working with six more countries to track down the deadly children's drug. But WHO has refused to name those countries. According to WHO, there are many countries where this drug may be available for sale. Significantly, last year more than 300 babies died from this drug in many countries.

Earlier this week, Nigeria's regulator issued a warning about tainted paracetamol syrup being sold in Liberia, although there have been no deaths, according to Reuters. The Nigerian regulator was testing syrups that were not sold in Nigeria because there are no testing facilities in Liberia. The WHO issued safety alerts for Indian pharmaceutical products in Gambia and Uzbekistan last year and in Micronesia and the Marshall Islands group this year.