According to the authorities, 19 children may have died in Uzbekistan after taking cough syrup from India. The public prosecutor’s office has started a procedure for the sale of counterfeit medicines.
Fergana news agency reports this on Thursday. A spokeswoman for the Uzbek secret service had previously said the suspects were in custody. Investigations against those responsible are ongoing at the company Quramax Medical, which imported the cough syrup, and at the GmbH “Scientific Center for the Standardization of Medicines” in Uzbekistan. The spokeswoman declined to comment on the number of detainees.
The Indian Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that it was in contact with the Uzbek authorities in connection with the syrup Dok1 Max from the pharmaceutical company Marion Biotech. The local drug agency also conducted an inspection of the manufacturing facility in the state of Uttar Pradesh and took samples of cough syrup, which would be sent to a laboratory for analysis.
Indian media reports critical of the coverage from Uzbekistan:
18 children died in #Uzbekistan after allegedly ingesting an Indian-manufactured cough syrup.
The union’s health minister said: “It is looking into the matter and appropriate action will be taken based on the findings.”
Marion Biotech’s legal spokesperson says, “We regret the incident.” pic.twitter.com/HrAqWoGWpM
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) December 29, 2022
Marion Biotech could not be reached on Thursday for questions from the DPA news agency. A company employee told the Indian news agency ANI that production of the syrup has since been halted. The company’s website was recently offline. An archived version of the website says the company’s products are sold in India, Russia and ex-Soviet republics, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Known as the pharmacy of the world, India produces many medicines cheaply, especially for poorer countries. A few weeks ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned about the sale of several cough and cold syrups from India in The Gambia, suspected of causing acute kidney failure and causing the deaths of dozens of children. (aeg/sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
