The drug regulation sector of Nigeria has issued an alert against painkillers made by Mumbai-based SynerCare. SynerCare’s sample painkillers carried toxic ethylene glycol, which can be fatal. It usually substitutes propylene glycol with toxic alternatives, ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, because they are cheaper. The alternatives are more commonly used in brake fluid and other products, hence, they are deemed to be unfit for human consumption.
SynerCare’s contaminated samples were being sold in Liberia, which were in fact made in Ahmedabad. The Liberian health regulator said it has planned to incinerate the stock and will recall two other Synercare products as well, as a precaution. It has also been warned that contaminated medicines could still be found for several years, because adulterated barrels of an essential ingredient may remain in warehouses. Cough syrups and the ingredient, propylene glycol, both have shelf-lives of around two years. The WHO had also issued safety alerts last year for Indian-made products found in Gambia and Uzbekistan, and this year in Micronesia and the Marshall Islands.
There have also been at least five incidents in the last half century when paracetamol and cough medicines were contaminated with deadly chemicals, in countries including India and Panama, although the death rate last year is recalled to be the deadliest on record.
