Gambian authorities have hired a US-based law firm to pursue legal action after an investigation revealed that contaminated medicines imported from India were likely to have caused the deaths of children last year, media has reported.
According to Gambian Justice Minister Dawda Jallow, legal action is one of the options the government is considering as part of its efforts to bring international litigation over the deaths.
However, the minister didn't provide further details on who would be the target of possible legal proceedings. He also didn't name the law firm the government hired to assist. Jallow added that the justice ministry is going to consider other options upon completion of a new government-backed causality assessment by a group of international experts.
At least 70 Gambian children, most of whom were under five, died from acute kidney disease between June and October last year.
The results of the investigation carried out by Gambian scientists and the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention, published in March this year, revealed that toxic levels of diethylene and ethylene glycol in imported Indian cough and paracetamol syrups most likely had caused the deaths.
The contaminated medicines were first spotted in October last year when the World Health Organization warned about toxic levels of such substances in four cough syrups by India's Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. However, the company denied that its medications might be at fault for the fatalities, noting that the syrups showed no contamination when they were tested.
In December of the same year, in the wake of the deaths of the Gambian children, India started nationwide inspection of drug manufacturing facilities.