World Health Organization (WHO) chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan has mentioned that youngster deaths in The Gambia, probably linked to 4 Indian-made cough syrups, have been a critical problem.
Swaminathan was chatting with reporters on the sidelines of the Annual General Meeting of the Vaccine Manufacturers Network of Developing Countries (DCVMN) right here on Thursday.
A WHO report has linked the deaths of 66 kids in The Gambia to 4 cough syrups made in India.
“Definitely, the government is in touch with WHO as the WHO actually provided the report based on the investigation that was done to prove that it was due to diethylene glycol contamination. This is a very serious issue and has to be taken very seriously,” Swaminathan mentioned.
He mentioned that there are central and state stage drug regulators in India and there’s a have to harmonize their operations.
“There’s no mechanism where regulators from different states can really work together, carrying out inspections on each other’s products,” she mentioned.
He mentioned that for India to stay a frontrunner in generic medication and vaccines, it is very important show that “we have a very strong regulatory system”.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
