THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) said Thursday that several tainted syrups and suspension drugs had been found in countries in the Western Pacific, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Americas, and the Mediterranean.
The WHO said that the goods were made by a company in Pakistan and were first found in the Maldives and Pakistan. In Belize, Fiji, and Laos, some of the tainted goods have also been found. Pharmix wasn’t ready right away to comment.
WHO said that the medicines, which were liquids with active ingredients to treat different diseases, had too much of the contaminant ethylene glycol.
This is the latest warning from WHO about medicines made in India and Indonesia that were tainted in the same way. These medicines were linked to the deaths of about 300 children around the world last year.
The WHO said in a statement that no bad effects from the syrups made in Pakistan had been reported. However, the agency asked countries to be more careful and test goods made by the company between December 2021 and December 2022.
The contamination was found in Alergo syrup in November during a routine check by the Maldives Food and Drug Authority. It was also confirmed by the Australian authority.
Following up on their initial check, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan found that a number of other products made by Pharmix were also tainted. It told the company to stop making all oral liquid medicines and sent out a recall notice in November.
The WHO said that 23 types of Alergo syrup, Emidone suspension, Mucorid syrup, Ulcofin suspension, and Zincell syrup are all dangerous. Out of all of them, only Alergo has been found elsewhere.
The alert said that the amounts of contamination were between 0.62% and 0.82%, which is higher than the acceptable level of 0.10%. The different items are made to help with allergies, coughs, and other health problems.
“The substandard products referenced in this alert are unsafe and their use, especially in children, may result in serious injury or death,” the WHO stated.
