An over-the-counter teething medication commonly used in Nigeria has killed more than 80 babies and young children, according to health officials, due to a batch that mistakenly contained a poisonous chemical.
Sold under the brand name My Pikin Baby Teething Mixture ("pikin" means child in West African pidgin), was found to contain diethyline glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze, most likely in place of glycerin, the sweet syrup used to flavor children's medicines and toothpastes. According to the New York Times, counterfeiters regularly replace glycerin with the less expensive (and often deadly) glycol to boost profits. The poison attacks the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. Health officials say three-quarters of the children sickened by the bad batch have died, all of them between the ages of two months and seven years.
It's impossible for most of us to imagine the pain these parents face. But it's a valuable reminder of how important good consumer-protection laws are, and how useless they are in the absence of enforcement. If you ever find yourself in an argument with someone who wants to cut funding for the FDA, ask them if they're ever wondered how it would feel to have to wonder, when giving their child some soothing medicine, whether it was truly safe.
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