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Teething Drug "My Pikin" Kills 25 Nigerian Children

by VR Sreeraman on Nov 27 2008 12:20 PM

Nigeria's food and drug control agency NAFDAC said 25 children have died in the last fortnight after taking a teething mixture discovered to contain a harmful susbstance, local media said Wednesday.

NAFDAC boss Dora Akunyili said the children, aged between four months and three years, died in government hospitals in Lagos, Ibadan and Zaria while more than 50 others had been hospitalised with chronic kidney damage after taking the drug "My Pikin" ("my child" in local pidgin).

"Last Monday, we concluded all laboratory tests on the drug and found out that it contains a killer element known as diethylene glycol," she said.

She said the agency has shut down the premises of the Nigerian manufacturer and appealed to mothers to stop the use of the drug on their children.

"NAFDAC officers nationwide have been directed to mop up all batches of the offending drug from circulation," she added.

Source-AFP
LIN


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