Uzbekistan Children Deaths Linked To India-Made Cough Syrup: All You Need To Know

18 Uzbekistan children deaths which occurred in Samarkand have been linked to Indian-manufactured cough syrup. All drug productions have been ordered to be halted in the Noida-based Marion Biotech after inspection.

The external affairs ministry stated that Indian Pharma remains a reliable supplier of medicines throughout the world. Both the Health Ministry in India and Uzbekistan have taken action.

In a medical product alert, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that two substandard products identified in Uzbekistan and reported to WHO failed to meet quality standards.

The two product Ambronol syrup and Dok-1 Max syrup.

Uzbekistan Children Deaths Linked To India-Made Cough Syrup

• The deaths of 18 children in Uzbekistan have been reported after the consumption of Indian-manufactured cough syrup. The syrup is called Dok-1 Max which was manufactured by Marion Biotech. The company has been exporting this particular medicine for almost a decade.
• The hospitalised children have been reported to take the cough syrup in 2.5-5ml doses, three to four times a day for one week. The children were taking the syrup as an anti-cold remedy.
• After a set of laboratory tests were run on the syrup by the Uzbekistan health ministry a contaminant in the syrup was found. The contaminant was ethylene glycol. It was revealed that as the contaminant is toxic, 95 percent of this concentrated cough syrup can lead to convulsions, vomiting, fainting, kidney failures, and cardiovascular issues.
• A similar case of deaths had been reported in Gambia where 70 children died after consumption of Indian-manufactured cough syrup by Maiden Pharmaceuticals. The children there died of acute kidney injuries. 82 of these children had kidney injuries and 70 of them have been reported to die between June and November this year. The contaminant here was found to be high levels of ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol.
• Marion Biotech, who manufactured Dok-1 Max cough syrup allegedly responsible for the death of Uzbekistan children, holds a license for manufacturing the cough syrup. The license was granted to them by the Drugs Controller of Uttar Pradesh.
• It has been noted that Marion Biotech has deviated from schedule M of Goods Manufacturing Practice (GMP). This ensures that products are controlled and produced as per quality standards.
• Marion Biotech has been served a show cause notice after the inspections took place. Dok-1 Max syrups and tablets have been withdrawn from all markets in the country. Seven employees were also sacked because of their lack of foresight which led to the situation.
• The Indian government has been communicating with Uzbekistan regarding this issue from December 27 onwards. Marion Biotech was investigated by Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) and Uttar Pradesh Drug Control.
• Post inspection the Uttar Pradesh state drug controller ordered an immediate halt in the production of all drugs by Marion Biotech.
• Both the Union Health Minister and the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs in India have commented on the matter. The spokesperson stated that the Uzbekistan authorities have taken legal action against the local representatives of the company in Samarkand and that India regrets what has happened.

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