The World Health Organization (WHO) is expected to issue a warning.
Toxic compounds were found in Nigerian stocks of one of Johnson and Johnson's (J&J) cough syrups, the UN agency said on Friday.
Tested samples of a syrup medicine for children called Benylin to treat coughs, hay fever and other allergic reactions showed unacceptable levels of diethylene glycol last week, prompting an immediate recall by Nigerian health authorities.
Since 2022, the toxic substance has been linked to the deaths of more than 300 children in Cameroon, Gambia, Indonesia and Uzbekistan, along with ethylene glycol, which has a similar composition. In the week since the Nigerian authorities' move, five other African countries - Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and the Republic of South Africa - have also taken the drug off the shelves.
The recalled kit was produced at the manufacturer's South African plant in May 2021, but as the brand is now owned by Kenvue, which was spun off from J&J last year, the giant referred inquiries about the contamination to the new company.
In its Friday statement, Kenvue claimed that it had sampled the incriminated Nigerian batch, but the test did not reveal either diethylene or ethylene glycol contamination, MTI reported.
It has happened before that the WHO issued a warning because of a cough suppressant. In April last year, samples of Guaifenesin TG syrup manufactured by Punjab-based QP Pharmachem were found to contain unacceptable levels of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol.
