The Uzbekistan government has alleged that 18 children have died in the central Asian nation following the consumption of a cough syrup produced by an Indian pharmaceutical firm Marion Biotech.
Indian authorities said on Thursday (December 29) that they have probed a pharmaceutical facility that made a cough syrup allegedly linked to the deaths of 19 children in Uzbekistan. The authorities have vowed to further action based on the preliminary reports. Uzbekistan's health ministry earlier claimed in a statement that the children who died had consumed cough syrup Doc-1 Max, which is manufactured by Marion Biotech an Indian drugmaker. The statement mentioned that the laboratory tests found "the presence of ethylene glycol", a toxic chemical compound.
The ministry said 18 out of 21 children who took the Doc-1 Max syrup while suffering from an acute respiratory disease died after consuming it. The cough syrup manufactured by Noida-based Marion Biotech Pvt Ltd.