In the Netherlands there are several organizations that deal with the approval and control of medicines. The IVM is one of them. They say that in the Netherlands we have ‘a very closed chain of medicines’. “If it has been delivered through the drugstore or pharmacist, you should be able to assume that it is safe.”
controls
The same applies to ordering medicines online, ‘but then for the well-known providers’. Those providers are subject to checks before they enter the market, and also after they are already on the market.
As long as medicines enter the market legally, there is no cause for concern, says spokesman Marloes Dankers of the IVM. Through the illegal route, she can’t rule it out. “That could have happened.”
The Health Care Inspectorate also sees no major concerns for now. “We currently have no indications that this cough syrup is on the market in the Netherlands,” says spokesperson Mariël van Dam. “But we’re definitely going to keep an eye on it.”
Not at one pharmaceutical
More than 300 children have died worldwide, including 200 in Indonesia, according to WHO. The organization states that there are no ‘isolated incidents’. That is why the warning has been sent to all 194 member states of the United Nations.
In The Gambia, the deaths were linked to the company Maiden Pharmaceuticals, but that does not market products in Indonesia, so it is suspected that the problem is not limited to one pharmaceutical company.
Under 5
The cough drops may contain the toxic substances ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol. How the substances ended up there, and which brands are involved, is not yet clear. The contaminated cough syrups have been found in at least seven countries, according to the WHO, and children have died in three countries. Most of the victims are younger than 5 years old.
In Indonesia, 25 parents have filed a lawsuit against the government, because they believe that it has not acted adequately enough. 200 children died in the country from cough syrup, including 2-year-old Umar. His mother tells in this video what happened:
