WHO warns against the use of 2 Indian Cough syrups linking it to the deaths of 19 children.
On Wednesday 11 January 2024, The World Health Organisation recommended abstaining from the use of the 2 Cough syrup named AMBRONOL syrup and DOK-1 Max syrup for children as it was linked to the deaths of 19 children in Uzbekistan.
AMBRONOL and DOK-1 Max Cough syrup
Ambronol and DOK-1 Max syrup are cough syrups produced by Indian Company Marion Biotech.
Image source: Quramax.com
Marion Biotech’s website mentions that. Ambronol syrup is used for Bronchial congestion and productive cough and DOK-1 Max is prescribed for productive cough, throat connection, blocked nose, sore throat, sinusitis, headache, body ache, and fever associated with cold and flu.
In December 2022, Uzbekistan said that DOK-1 Max claimed the lives of 18 children.
It stated “To date, 18 out of 21 children with acute respiratory disease have died as a result of taking Dok-1 Max syrup… It was found that deceased children took 2.5-5 ml of the drug at home for 2-7 days, 3-4 times a day, which exceeds the standard dose of the drug for children. All children were given the drug without a doctor’s prescription.”
WHO IN a statement said “Cough syrups made by India’s Marion Biotech should not be used for children after the products were linked to 19 deaths in Uzbekistan,”
“The two products are AMBRONOL syrup and DOK-1 Max syrup. The stated manufacturer of both products is Marion Biotech (Uttar Pradesh, India). Laboratory analysis found both products contained unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and /or ethylene.”
The WHO released an alert on its website that mentioned “This WHO Medical Product Alert refers to two substandard (contaminated) products, identified in Uzbekistan and reported to WHO on 22 December 2022. Substandard medical products are products that fail to meet quality standards or specifications and are therefore out of specification.”
It added, “the substandard products referenced in this Alert are unsafe and their use, especially in children, may result in serious injury or death.”
Drug Inspector Vaibhav Babbar said, “We have suspended the production license of Marion Biotech company after not providing enough documents, show-cause notice was also given by the state licensing authority depending upon the documents asked during the inspection which they didn’t provide.”
