Kinkini Gupta
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Written By: Kinkini Gupta | Updated : January 12, 2023 4:37 PM IST
Uzbekistan Child Deaths: 2 Indian Manufactured Syrups Are "Substandard", Says WHO
WHO Cough Syrups Case: In a recent report, the World Health Organization stated that children in Uzbekistan should not be given cough syrups which are manufactured by the Noida-based company Marion Biotech. The Noida-based company has come into the spotlight after Uzbekistan alleged the death of 18 children due to the consumption of the cough syrup manufactured by them. In a medical product alert on Wednesday, the WHO said the "substandard medical products", manufactured by Marion Biotech, "are products that fail to meet quality standards or specifications and are therefore out of specification."
The WHO has very specifically pointed out that that the cough syrups manufactured by the company are "substandard" and by that they mean that the medicine has failed to meet the quality standards and therefore should not be manufactured or used. In an alert published on the WHO website, they have specified two products in Uzbekistan as "substandard" or contaminated.
As per WHO reports, the national quality control laboratories of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Uzbekistan conducted a laboratory analysis on the cough syrups. The results showed unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and / or ethylene glycol as contaminants. The UN health agency added that, "The substandard products referenced in this Alert are unsafe and their use, especially in children, may result in serious injury or death."
Experts state that children, mainly infants and toddlers should not be give cough syrups at all. It should not be give to anyone who is less than six year of age. Instead parents could use home remedies to cure cough and cold for example, honey or a drop of lemon. Pediatricians have stated that sometimes parents tend to self medicate their child with over the counter cough syrups. This is a very dangerous step. the best course of action is to use the syrup that was recommended by a doctor the first time a child had symptoms and if that does not work, parents should get an appointment instead of self medicating their child. Cough syrups are often give to children by parents as a solution to cough but syrups do not cure this problem. Experts say that cough syrups are not a curative treatment but a symptomatic one.
