Post by : Rameen Ariff

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed on Friday that the toxic cough syrups connected to the recent deaths of several children in India were not exported or shipped to the United States.

According to the FDA, they are aware of reports regarding diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol contamination found in children’s cough and cold medicines in India. These toxic chemicals can be deadly, especially for young children.

Over the past month, at least 17 children under the age of five reportedly died in India after consuming cough syrup that contained extremely high levels of diethylene glycol, nearly 500 times higher than the safe limit. The deaths have been linked to a brand called Coldrif, which was banned on October 2 after laboratory tests confirmed the dangerous chemical content.

Earlier this week, Indian authorities warned the public to avoid two additional brands of cough syrup that may also contain harmful substances. Health officials in India are investigating how the contamination occurred and have begun a nationwide inspection of similar medicines.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised concerns over what it described as a “regulatory gap” in India’s medicine screening process, particularly for syrup-based drugs that are widely sold across the country.

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), India’s top drug regulator, has assured the US FDA that these contaminated cough syrups were not exported outside India.

In its statement, the US FDA emphasized that it remains on high alert to prevent any contaminated or unsafe medicines from entering the American market. The agency has also reminded pharmaceutical manufacturers to maintain strict quality standards and ensure that all products sold in the US are safe for consumers.

The tragic incident has once again drawn attention to medicine safety and quality control in India’s pharmaceutical sector, which is one of the largest drug producers in the world. Health experts are now urging authorities to strengthen testing systems to prevent such deadly mistakes in the future.

#world news #Global News