Nigeria recalls J&J cough syrup made in SA over toxic substance

Nigeria’s health regulator said on Wednesday it had recalled a batch of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) children’s cough syrup after finding an unacceptably high level of a potentially fatal toxic substance.

The batch being recalled was made in SA in May 2021 with an expiry date of April 2024. The regulator urged those with bottles from the batch to discontinue use or sale and submit them to its nearest office.

Laboratory tests on Benylin Paediatric showed a high level of diethylene glycol, which has been linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since 2022 in one of the world’s worst waves of poisoning from oral medication.

The syrup was used to treat cough and congestion-related symptoms, hay fever and other allergic reactions in children aged two to 12, Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control said in a notice on its website.

“Laboratory analysis conducted on the product showed that it contains an unacceptable high level of diethylene glycol and was found to cause acute oral toxicity in laboratory animals,” the agency said.

Human consumption of the substance could cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches and acute kidney injury that might result in death, the regulator said.

J&J referred a request for comment to Kenvue, which now owns the Benylin brand spun off last year. Kenvue did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters