He 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.
Unscrupulous actors sometimes substitute propylene glycol with toxic alternatives, ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, because they are cheaper, several pharmaceutical manufacturing experts told Reuters.
The WHO said it has also offered help to Liberia and Cameroon – which recently signalled that it too may have contaminated cough syrups for sale.
The contaminated syrups in Liberia were made by India's Synercare Mumbai, according to the Nigerian regulator.
Persons:
Rutendo Kuwana, Kuwana, –, syrups, Naresh Kumar Goyal, QP Pharmachem, India's Synercare, Synercare, It's, Jennifer Rigby, Krishna N.Das, Edward McAllister, Stanley Widianto, Sumit Khanna, Sophie Yu, Sara Ledwith, Michele Gershberg
Organizations:
World Health Organization, WHO, Reuters, Pharmaceutical, Marshall, Indonesian, –, PT Universal Pharmaceutical Industries, AFI, Pharmaceuticals, Marion Biotech, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, Thomson
Locations:
LIBERIA, CAMEROON, Liberia, Nigeria, Gambia, Uzbekistan, Micronesia, Indonesian, – Timor Leste, Cambodia, Senegal, Philippines, Cameroon, syrups, Marshall Islands, India's Synercare Mumbai, Nigerian, Liberian, India, Panama, Delhi, Dakar, Jakarta, Ahmedabad, Beijing