SA-produced cough syrup labelled toxic and recalled from shelves in Nigeria and Kenya

SA-produced cough syrup labelled toxic and recalled from shelves in Nigeria and Kenya

Nigeria and Kenya’s healthcare agencies have reportedly pulled a batch of Benylin paediatric cough syrup off the shelves.

They cited that the medicine — that was reportedly manufactured in South Africa — contained an unacceptable level of a potentially lethal poisonous chemical that may lead to an illness and death in children.

According to Reuters, testing on the cough syrup brand found a high level of diethylene glycol.

The medicine is used to treat cough and congestion symptoms and allergic reactions in children aged two to 12, according to a notice posted on Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) website.

“Laboratory analysis conducted on the product showed that it contains an unacceptably high level of diethylene glycol and was found to cause acute oral toxicity in laboratory animals,” the organisation said.

This chemical has supposedly been connected to the deaths of scores of children in Cameroon, Gambia and Uzbekistan since 2022, in what is said to be one of the world’s worst epidemics of oral medicine poisoning.

The Nigerian health authority added that human intake of the chemical could produce symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches, and acute kidney injury, which could lead to death.

Kenvue, the owner of Benylin, reportedly said it was conducting it’s own assessment and testing methodology used.

“We are engaging with the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control in Nigeria to understand more as we conduct our own assessment, including verifying the authenticity of the sampled product, testing methodology used and results reported by the agency,” a Kenvue spokesperson said to News24.

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