World Health Organization (WHO) Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Lokmarg

‘Shocked’: Maiden Pharma Breaks Silence On Deaths in the Gambia

By LokMarg 8th October 2022

By Shalini Bhardwaj

The Indian Pharma company Maiden Pharmaceuticals on Saturday expressed shock over the media reports regarding the deaths of 66 children in the Gambia after consuming cough syrup manufactured by them.

In an exclusive input to ANI, the pharma company said, “We are shocked to hear the media reports regarding the deaths and deeply saddened by this incident but we received the official information from our agent at the Gambia on October 5, 2022, and on the subsequent date, World Health Organisation alert was issued against us.”

The pharma company Maiden Pharmaceuticals has come under scanner after 66 children died in the Gambia after consuming cough syrup produced in India.

In an official statement the company Director, Vivek Goyal said, “We are in the field of medicines for over three decades and have been diligently following the protocols of the health authorities including Drugs Controller General (India) and the State Drugs Controllers, Haryana,” reads the statement.

He further said that they have valid drug approvals for the export of the products his company is not selling anything in the domestic market. He also added that his company is obtaining raw materials from certified and reputed companies.

“The government agencies visited our factory on October 1 and October 3, October 6 and 7 October and the samples were drawn by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation(CDSCO) along with all relevant documents in question in presence of our directors,” Goyal said in the statement.

The drug regulators have collected the samples of cold and cough syrup from the manufacturing facility of Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceutical in Sonipat, after WHO issued a medical alert, and results are expected to come soon.

“The samples have been drawn by the CDSCO officials and we are awaiting the results since the matter is already pending investigation and subjudice, we cannot comment on any other issues and shall update you in the future as and when we receive the information,” he added.

WHO on Wednesday issued an alert over four India-made cough and cold syrups which are made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals in India. WHO has also notified that the same cough and cold syrups could be linked to the deaths of 66 children in the Gambia.

As per sources, from the preliminary inquiry, it has been made out that Maiden Pharmaceutical Limited, Sonipat, Haryana is a manufacturer licensed by the State Drug Controller for the products under reference, and holds manufacturing permission for these products. The company has manufactured and exported these products only to the Gambia so far. (ANI)

Dengue Outbreak In Pakistan, Cases Exceed 30,000 This Year

By LokMarg 1st October 2022

Pakistan’s capital city, Islamabad, reported 104 more dengue cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 30,267 in the country this year, local media reported, citing the Islamabad District Health Officer (DHO), on Saturday.

The federal capital has reported 2,435 cases in the current season, with an overall of 1,379 dengue cases have been reported in rural and 952 emerged from urban areas of Islamabad, ARY News reported.
The rising cases of dengue in Pakistan have claimed 68 lives so far this year, while the total cases have reached 30,267.

In the federal capital, the total cases have gone up to 2,435 while six people lost their lives to the viral disease in the current year. As per the sources, Sindh reported the most cases and deaths, ARY News reported.

Over 9,496 dengue cases, and 37 people were reported dead in Sindh. Punjab reported 6,564 cases, and 18 people lost lives to the virus. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 8,070 cases and seven deaths, while Balochistan reported at least 3,402 dengue cases.

As districts in Pakistan continue to be affected by massive monsoon rainfall and unprecedented levels of flooding, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of significant public health threats facing affected populations, including the risk of further water spread and vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever, ARY News reported.

The country is continuing to report more and more dengue virus cases daily, with panic and fear spreading among the public as a shortage of fever medicines has also surfaced.

Adding to the catastrophic situation, the fumigation drive was halted because the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) ran out of fuel, sources said.

Sources told ARY News that the fumigation drive was halted due to the non-availability of petrol and diesel for the past four days.

Record monsoon and heavy floods in Pakistan have given rise to hunger and various illnesses which have affected 33 million people and the experts believe that the situation would aggravate in the coming days as the flood affectees are forced to live under the sky depriving the required resources.

Around 888 health facilities have been damaged in the country, of which 180 are completely damaged, leaving millions of people lacking access to health care and medical treatment, as reported in many affected districts.

Pakistan receives heavy — often destructive — rains during its annual monsoon season, which is crucial for agriculture and water supplies. But the heavy downpour this year has created havoc in the country, while rapidly melting glaciers in the north have for months heaped pressure on waterways.

Huge areas of the country are still underwater and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes.

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Pakistan is facing one of the worst flooding events in its history. The human and socio-economic toll is expected to increase as flood levels continue to rise, with immense pressure on the country’s dams. (ANI)

Ebola Outbreak Reported In Uganda

By LokMarg 20th September 2022

World Health Organisation on Tuesday said that it is in close contact with the Ministry of Health Uganda to provide a rapid response after it confirmed the outbreak of case Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Central Region of the country.

“WHO is in close touch with the Ministry of Health Uganda and is providing support to mount a rapid response and engage communities,” the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted.
Earlier, in the day, the Health Ministry of Uganda said in a series of tweets that a confirmed case of Ebola virus was reported in the Mubende District in the Central Region of Uganda. The patients diagnosed with the symptoms later succumbed, the health ministry said.

“Uganda confirms an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Mubende District, Uganda. The confirmed case is a 24-year-old male a resident Ngabano village of Madudu Sub County in Mubende District presented with EVD symptoms and later succumbed,” the Uganda Health ministry tweeted.

It further said that the patient was found positive for the virus after the test samples were taken. A rapid response team was immediately sent to the Mubende district for case management.

“The clinical team took off samples for testing at UVRI. Results confirmed that the patient was positive for the Ebola-Sudan strain.”

“The Uganda Health Ministry and partners have dispatched a Rapid Response Team to Mubende District to support the teams in surveillance, contact tracing, and case management,” the tweet read.

Ebola is a severe and too often fatal illness caused by the Ebola virus. Previous Ebola outbreaks and responses have shown that early diagnosis and treatment with optimized supportive care –with fluid and electrolyte repletion and treatment of symptoms–significantly improve survival. (ANI)

Pak: Pregnant Woman Dies In Flood, Due To Lack Of Medical Aid

By LokMarg 11th September 2022

Due to a lack of timely medical assistance and relief supplies, a mother and her unborn child died in the Khair district of flood-hit Pakistan on Saturday.

The incident took place in Akari village of Khairpur district as the woman was not transported to the hospital due to floodwaters on roads, according to ARY News.
Recently, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) also raised concerns for providing healthcare facilities to almost 650,000 pregnant women in flood-affected areas in Pakistan.

“Almost 650,000 pregnant women in the flood-affected areas require maternal health services to ensure a safe pregnancy and childbirth,” UNFPA said in an official statement.

“Up to 73,000 women expected to deliver next month will need skilled birth attendants, newborn care, and support,” the UN agency added, reported ARY News.

Amid devastating floods in Pakistan, women and their needs have taken a backseat as many of them are forced to live under an open sky and feminine hygiene products and toilets are not a part of the conversation about relief items.

Menstruating and pregnant women are in a miserable state as they have no access to menstrual products or any place to defecate.

The flash floods have badly impacted 80 districts of the country and the death toll from floods in Pakistan has reached near 1,200 as 19 more people lost their lives in the last 24 hours.

According to medical experts, the most common disease amongst the women flood survivors is Urinary tract infection followed by other infections.

Since mid-June, 937 people have died from severe rain and flooding across the South Asian country, according to the country’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

The southern province of Sindh, which has been badly hit by the flooding, has asked for 1 million tents, while nearby Balochistan province has requested 100,000 tents. Since mid-June, when the monsoon began, more than 3,000 kilometres (1,864 miles) of road, 130 bridges and 495,000 homes have been damaged, according to NDMA’s last situation report.

As districts in Pakistan continue to be affected by massive monsoon rainfall and unprecedented levels of flooding, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of significant public health threats facing affected populations, including the risk of further spread of water and vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.