WHO issues alert over another India-made cough syrup

The World Health Organization has said that a batch of contaminated India-made cough syrup has been found in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.

The WHO said that the tested samples of Guaifenesin TG syrup, made by Punjab-based QP Pharmachem Ltd, showed "unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol".

Both compounds are toxic to humans and could be fatal if consumed.

The WHO statement did not specify if anyone had fallen ill.

The latest alert comes months after the WHO linked other cough syrups made in India to child deaths in The Gambia and Uzbekistan.

Sudhir Pathak, managing director of QP Pharmachem, told the BBC that the company had exported the batch of 18,346 bottles to Cambodia after getting all due regulatory permissions. He said he didn't know how the product had reached the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.