• Sign UpSign up here to join our community!
  • Sign In
Africa Welcomes You
Siamese crocodiles.
  • Home
  • NewsNews, information and articles from African countries
  • Countries InformationNews, information, facts, flags, maps from Africa
    • AlgeriaAlgeria news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • AngolaAngola news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • BeninBenin news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • BotswanaBotswana news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • Burkina FasoBurkina Faso news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • BurundiBurundi news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • CameroonCameroon news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • Cape VerdeCape Verde news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • Central African Rep.Central African Republic news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • ChadChad news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • ComorosComoros news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • CongoCongo news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • Dem Rep. of Congo Democratic Republic of Congo news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • Djibouti Djibouti news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • Egypt Egypt news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • Eritrea Eritrea news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • EthiopiaEthiopia news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • GabonGabon news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • GambiaGambia news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • GhanaGhana news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • GuineaGuinea news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • Guinea BissauGuinea Bissau news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • Ivory CoastIvory Coast news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • KenyaKenya news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • LesothoLesotho news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • LiberiaLiberia news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • LibyaLibya news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • MadagascarMadagascar news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • MalawiMalawi news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • MaliMali news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • MauritaniaMauritania news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • MauritiusMauritius news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • MoroccoMorocco news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • MozambiqueMozambique news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • NamibiaNamibia news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • NigerNiger news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • NigeriaNigeria news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • RéunionReunion news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • RwandaRwanda news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • São Tomé and Principe São Tomé and Principe news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • SenegalSenegal news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • SeychellesSeychelles news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • Sierra LeoneSierra Leone news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • SomaliaSomalia news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • South AfricaSouth Africa news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • SudanSudan news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • SwazilandSwaziland news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • TanzaniaTanzania news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • TogoTogo news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • TunisiaTunisia news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • UgandaUganda news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • ZambiaZambia news, information, flag, maps and photos
    • ZimbabweZimbabwe news, information, flag, maps and photos
  • Business and FinanceBusiness, finances and ecomony froom Africa
  • Publish AfricaPublishing Program for African newspapers and print media
  • African Real EstateReal Estate in Africa
  • Business DirectoryBusiness listings and directory
Edit - Delete
Back and NextBack and Next - Back and Next
« Great Gambian serie!
COTE D'IVOIRE: Pregnancy one more strike... »
Edit - Delete
Show Media ItemShow Media Item - NIGERIA: Painkiller leaves 84 children dead

NIGERIA: Painkiller leaves 84 children dead

africa » nigeria » kano
Saturday, February 07, 2009

Health authorities in Nigeria announced on 4 February that 84 children have died and a further 27 have fallen ill since November as a result of ingesting a pain-relief syrup called ‘My Pikin’.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) discovered in November that the product contained the chemical Diethylene glycol, which can be lethal to babies and children.

The chemical has been involved in a number of poisonings in the past after being added to medicines, according to consumer groups.

My Pikin, a Nigerian-made product, is administered mostly to teething children to relieve sore gums.

NAFDAC first discovered the mixture was contaminated in mid-November, following an upsurge in reported cases of acute renal failure in children in three hospitals: Lagos hospital, Ibadan hospital in neighbouring Ono state, and Zaria hospital in Kaduna state in the north. In each of these hospitals, ‘My Pikin’ had been administered to children.

The affected children were between six months and eight years old.

“The affected children exhibited renal failure as well as other symptoms, which included fever, puffiness of the face, vomiting, diarrhea, cough and catarrh,” Jide Idris, health commissioner in Lagos state, told IRIN.

Maryam Ibrahim told IRIN: “I have lost my eight-month-old baby [because of] My Pikin syrup and my heart aches from this callousness. I'm now suspicious of any locally manufactured pediatric drug. Although [local products] are cheaper, I now prefer purchasing foreign ones. I can't take any chances with my other two children.”

Her child was one of 11 who died at Ahmadu Bello Teaching Hospital in Zaria after being prescribed the contaminated product.

NAFDAC spokesperson, Abubakar Jimoh, told IRIN: "The death toll could be higher as many people here self-medicate and do not go to hospital, so some deaths of children in villages may not have been reported.”

NAFDAC stopped the sale of My Pikin in November and ordered its manufacturer, Barewa Pharmaceuticals, and suppliers of the toxic chemical, Tranxell, to be shut down, arresting the companies’ owners.

But health authorities have found it difficult to track down all batches of the product on the market.

“So far we have recalled over 5,000 bottles of the drug, but we face an uphill task of retrieving all the contaminated batches of the teething mixture. We are ransacking all the shelves of drug stores and markets across the country," NAFDAC’s Jimoh told IRIN.

“We are trying to ensure that no other manufacturer had bought the [harmful] chemical from Tranxell but as a precaution, we advise parents to shun all paracetamol syrups and go for tablets. It is better to play it safe while investigation is going on,” he said.

Representatives of the two companies could not be reached for comment.

IRIN 

Edit - Delete
Html Script BoxHtml Script Box - Ads by Google
Edit - Delete
Related TopicsRelated Topics - Related Topics
Related Topics
pain killer, toxic, syrup, medicine, poison
Edit - Delete
Provided ByProvided By - Provided By
Provided By
Edit - Delete
Html Script BoxHtml Script Box - Ads by Google
Edit - Delete
Media ActionsMedia Actions - Media Actions
Media Actions
0
Promote
Email to a friend
Inquire
Save to delicious
Digg this
Stumble it
Edit - Delete
See AlsoSee Also - See Also
See Also
  • Nigeria buys baby poison antidote
  • 'Bad syrup' kills Nigerian babies
  • COTE D'IVOIRE: Thousands of toxic waste victims could miss out on compensation

2006-2007 .geographical media

Website created with Lara by Geographical Media