According to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), precautions have been taken at several ports of entry into the nation to stop contaminated cough syrups.
At a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja, NAFDAC Director-General Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye revealed this.
The FDA reportedly issued an alert with the number 040/2022 on Sunday regarding some tainted cough syrups that were being sold in the Gambia.
Additionally, according to news sources, the syrups are known as Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup, and Magrip N Cold Syrup.
The cough syrups allegedly came from an Indian company called Maiden Pharmaceuticals, but no assurances regarding their safety were given.
Meanwhile, the NAFDAC boss said that the agency had put appropriate measures at the various ports of entry to curtail the entry of these syrups into Nigeria.
She said that NAFDAC had activated its internal surveillance mechanisms to mop up these products from the supply chain pipeline if they were ever found.
Adeyeye said that as a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) programme on International drug monitoring, NAFDAC would leave no stone unturned in ensuring that these products did not cause harm to Nigerians.
She said that the cough syrups had killed 66 children in Gambia, and that interviews conducted on the bereaved parents in the Gambia by health authorities and law enforcement agencies revealed how their children were not able to pass urine after taking the syrups.
“Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are restricted chemicals which are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal.
“These chemicals are closely related in chemical structure to propylene glycol which is the right vehicle for use in the manufacture of paediatric syrups.
“Poor quality control might have led to non-detection of these dangerous products and hence the fatality we have on our hands in the Gambia,” she dressed
The NAFDAC boss however said that the four cough syrups in question were not registered by the agency and called on Nigerians to be cautious.
She also implored importers, distributors, retailers and consumers to exercise vigilance within the supply chain to avoid importation, distribution, sales and use of substandard cough syrups.
According to her, all medical products must be obtained from authorised/licensed suppliers, adding that the product authenticity and physical condition should be carefully checked.