Health minister says chemical used in textile dyeing factories discovered in drug

This article is more than 11 years old

This article is more than 11 years old

At least 25 children in Bangladesh have died after taking a paracetamol syrup believed to be tainted with a toxic chemical, according to authorities.

The syrup became toxic after manufacturers replaced one of its ingredients with a cheaper alternative, the Bangladesh health ministry said.

Experts found traces of a toxic chemical in a paracetamol syrup produced by a local drug firm that is suspected to have killed at least 25 children in the past few weeks.

The health minister, AFM Ruhul Haque, said experts had conducted two tests on the syrup and had found diethyl glycol, a chemical normally used in textile and leather dyeing factories, on each occasion.

"The drug-maker added the toxic industrial chemical because it is 10 times cheaper than propylene glycol, which is used as a solvent in paracetamol syrup," he said.

The children who died were aged between one and five, and lived in Brahmanbaria, an eastern district where authorities have already ordered the pharmaceutical company to shut down operations.

Company officials were not immediately available for comment.

Two men were condemned to death and a company boss sentenced to life imprisonment six months ago for their roles in the production and sale of poisoned milk that killed at least six children and made almost 300,000 sick in China.

More than 50,000 children were sent to hospital with kidney problems after drinking Sanlu baby formula contaminated with melamine, a chemical normally used to make fertiliser and plastics.