No traces of diethylene glycol had been detected in the two recalled batches of Benylin paediatric cough syrup, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has announced after investigations.
In April, News24 reported that Nigeria’s health regulator had recalled a batch of Benylin that was reportedly produced in South Africa, amid claims that it contained an unacceptably high level of the toxic ingredient.
The substance 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 Benylin brand was previously owned by Johnson & Johnson before it – with the rest of the latter’s consumer health business – was spun off as a separate business called Kenvue in August last year.
A Kenvue spokesperson told News24 at the time that it was engaging with Nigerian health authorities and conducting its own tests.
In its statement, SAHPRA confirmed there was no record of any adverse drug reactions relating to diethylene glycol for the two recalled batches “in South Africa or anywhere else where they were exported to on the continent”.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Toxic cough syrup now unavailable in Africa – WHO
SA and J&J drawn into toxic cough mixture scandal
More countries affected by toxic cough syrups