(Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday there was no indication that contaminated cough and paracetamol syrups that caused deaths of children in Gambia last year have entered the U.S. drug supply chain.

This comes after an investigation led by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Gambian scientists reported on Thursday that these medicines contaminated with toxic levels of diethylene and ethylene glycol led to acute kidney injury among 78 children in Gambia.

“We will continue to monitor the situation and keep the public and health care professionals updated of any changes in status to the U.S. market,” Patrizia Cavazzoni, director for FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a tweet.

In October, the World Health Organization sent out an alert saying four cough syrups containing toxic levels of diethylene and ethylene glycol made by India’s Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd should be withdrawn.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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