Contaminated cough syrups death toll passes 300 in four months

A string of deadly incidents connected to contaminated and substandard medicines have emerged in recent months. Cough syrups contaminated with ethylene glycol (EG) and diethylene glycol (DEG) have led to deaths of 70 children in The Gambia, more than 200 in Indonesia, and – most recently – 19 in Uzbekistan. Meanwhile in the US, eye drops contaminated with drug-resistant bacteria have led to serious eye infections in 55 people, including one death.