The Gambia has ordered importers and stores to suspend sales of all brands of paracetamol as the government launches an investigation into a suspected link between the drug and the deaths of dozens of young children.
The head of the health system in the West African country said that the investigation was launched after discovering a rise in acute kidney injury cases among children under the age of five in late July. It was also found that a number of children developed kidney problems after three to five days of consuming paracetamol syrup, which is sold locally.
The drug watchdog said there was not enough data to justify a general ban on paracetamol, a pain reliever often used to reduce fever in children.
The children developed symptoms including the inability to urinate, high fever and vomiting, which quickly led to kidney failure.
The agency did not name any specific brands, but said that some samples were sent abroad for quality control testing.
WHO officials said last week that the evidence pointed not to “paracetamol” but to a vector source such as contaminated water, but stressed that there were many unanswered questions.
Escherichia coli bacteria may be a possible factor because heavy rains have caused flooding in The Gambia and most of West Africa in recent weeks.