The WHO suspects that four of the syrups made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited – Promethazine Oral Solution, Kofexmalin Baby Cough Syrup, Makoff Baby Cough Syrup and Magrip N Cold Syrup – have “unacceptable amounts” of chemicals that can damage the brain, lungs, liver and kidneys of those who take them. The WHO has previously issued an alert regarding the medicines and they have been recalled by the Gambian Medicine Control Agency. The alarm was first raised by medical officers in the Gambia, after an unusual number of children began dying from kidney problems. The deaths confounded medics until a pattern emerged: dozens of patients younger than five had fallen ill three to five days after taking a locally sold syrup made by Maiden Pharmaceuticals. At least 70 children died from acute kidney injury in Gambia last year, cases the World Health Organisation (WHO) linked to medicines made by Indian drugmaker Maiden Pharmaceuticals that were contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG), toxins normally used as industrial solvents and antifreeze agents. Now, parents of 20 of the children are taking legal steps, seeking about $250,000 in compensation for each child.