WHO finds India-made tainted cough syrup in U.S. Islands

The World Health Organization (WHO) issued alert regarding contaminated cough syrup made by an Indian company, reported the 24NewsHD TV channel.

The WHO found tainted samples of a cough syrup called Guaifenesin syrup TG syrup in Marshall Islands and Micronesia. The cough syrup was manufactured by India's QP Pharmachem Ltd., which is based in Punjab, and marketed by Trillium Pharma, which is based in Haryana.

 Samples of the syrup were analyzed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia and the analysis found that the product contained "unacceptable" amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants, the WHO said in a statement.

Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal.

"The substandard product referenced in this Alert is unsafe, and its use, especially in children, may result in serious injury or death," the statement said.

It added that toxic effects can include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, the inability to pass urine, headache, an altered mental state and acute kidney injury which may lead to death.