Uzbekistan cough syrup row: Is India to be blamed?

In Uzbekistan, 18 children have died after consuming a cough syrup manufactured in India. The drug, called Dok-1 Max, allegedly had unacceptable amounts of ethylene glycol. India has launched an inquiry into the alleged role of Marion Biotech, the Noida-based manufacturer. Drug samples have been sent for testing to the Regional Drugs Testing Laboratory at Chandigarh.ALSO LISTEN: Will China Covid Surge Lead To Delta-Like Wave In India? What is the problem with Dok-1 Max?Dok-1 Max is a cough and cold syrup. The children who died were suffering from acute respiratory attack and were given the drugs by their parents or pharmacists. These were not prescribed by any doctor. Neither were they taken in the right quantity, according to the Uzbekistan health ministry’s report. Whether the cough syrup is responsible for the death of the children is under investigation by both the Uzbekistan health ministry as well as the Indian authorities. What is ethylene glycol? Why is it dangerous?Ethylene glycol is a colourless, odourless alcoholic compound. It is used as a solvent, but if the quantity of ethylene glycol used in cough syrups is unacceptably high then it can be poisonous to the body and can cause severe health consequences. For example, it can affect the central nervous system, the heart function, and even kidney function. Were the deaths of children in Uzbekistan due to overdosage? That is under investigation. Cough and cold syrups are considered mild. Whether a spoon extra can cause death, is difficult to say. I don't think only over-administration of the cough syrup can lead to death. However, this is all being investigated. The Uzbekistan health ministry is already looking into it. WHO has also offered technical assistance in investigating the cause of the deaths. The Indian government has also asked for papers because the Indian pharma industry is coming into the picture that the drug exported by an Indian firm is leading to the cause of death. Are these medicines being administered in India as well? No. As per the information given by the officials, the Marion Biotech Company had license to manufacture the drug and export them. These were only being exported to Uzbekistan. They are not being sold in India. How soon can we expect the lab test reports? It may take two to three days. Most likely, it will be available before January 2. Earlier, 69 children died in Gambia after consuming a cough syrup exported by an Indian firm. The WHO-commissioned labs said there was contamination in the drug. What can you say about that?That is correct. WHO has said that the cough syrups in question in case of Gambia did have unacceptably high levels of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants. But India also carried out a parallel investigation once. The matter was reported to the drug control units of Haryana which was exporting the cough syrups, samples were taken and checked in the government laboratory. The report from the Indian authorities suggests that there was adulteration. So again, it is under investigation. There is a technical expert committee from India which is looking into the matter. WHO, as well as the Gambian health authorities are also looking into it. Once the authorities establish a causal association, then we can say something about it. India is called the Drug Factory of the world. Are such incidents denting India’s reputation?I don't think so. India is known as pharmacy of the world because of its generic medicines and low-cost vaccines. It has the highest number of US FDA-compliant pharma plants outside the US. A massive scale of work is being done. The number of incidents is small, though we cannot ignore those.These two incidents do bring to fore, the issue of lack of regulation of the drug industry in India. We have seen this even during the COVID times. Even Delhi Police and other authorities have been conducting raids. They have been finding spurious drugs. The problem exists. Audio Production: Anil Chauhan