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Nigerians, last week, were inundated with reports of the loss of about 39 children following administration of My Pikin teething mixture. According to the Director General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Professor Dora Akunyili, 28 children were reported to have died of kidney failure following treatment with the drug.

Akunyili said 15 children died in Lagos University Teething Hospital (LUTH), 11 at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) Zaria, and two in the University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, in Oyo State. The Lagos State Government put the number of casualties in the state at 29 even as the total figure of the dead children was put at 37, as at last Friday, with the deal toll in LUTH rising to 20, and 24 hospitalized.

NAFDAC, which has identified the cause of the tragedy, traced it to the contamination of propylene glycol with the poisonous chemical, diethylene glycol. The tainted chemical was purchased by the drug manufacturer, Barewa Pharmaceuticals Ltd from Tranxell Ltd, Lagos, whose proprietor has since been arrested for not naming the importer of the tainted chemical. NAFDAC said a batch of 3000 bottles of My Pikin produced on August 10, 2008, was contaminated with the dangerous chemical.

The death of so many children on account of this tainted chemical is unfortunate. It is sad that so many families have been throwing into morning on account of the deaths caused by the tainted drug.
But the incident, and the recriminations that have followed it call for some action in making sure that such an incident is not allowed to recur. For example, Akunyili has claimed that NAFDAC was not notified of the wave of kidney-failure related deaths in children early enough by LUTH until about 15 children had died. The hospital, on its part, said it intimated the Federal Ministry of Health about the problem but did not want to raise an undue alarm over the incident. The authorities of LUTH also suggested that the problem might have been caused by Chinese baby Milk.

The Chinese baby milk was in the news last month for killing numerous children, both in China and other parts of the world because it had been laced with melamine, a chemical used to make the protein content of milk appear higher that it actually is, to meet required standards. The manufacturer of My Pikin also denied that its drug could be responsible for the deaths.
The controversy over the spate of denials of the culpability of the drug is, however, unhelpful. NAFDAC appears to have been thorough in its investigation, and has been able to identify the actual batch that was contaminated.

Even if this were not the case, caution demands that the public is warned not to consume the drug until tests have confirmed it to be safe, since it is always better to err on the side of caution, instead of exposing children to avoidable danger.

In all these, the ultimate losers are the innocent children who have been made to die an untimely death and the families, which have had to bury their young ones.
This incident has also brought into focus the need for more care and transparency in purchasing of raw materials for drugs. A situation in which a drug raw material is purchased and the supplier refuses to disclose the importer would not arise if a flow chain of information on the background of chemicals had been a standard requirement in all drug transactions. That is to say that it would have been helpful to have a standard practice in which all chemical retailers are expected to have documents relating to the sourcing of the products that they sell, up to the actual manufacturer of the product in the country from which it was exported.

If this had been standard practice, it would have been easier to know the unscrupulous persons and companies who sold the dangerous diethylene glycol for propylene glycol, ostensibly to maximise profit.
The lessons of the My Pikin tragedy are many. First, is that mothers should desist from indiscriminate use of unprescribed drugs. My Pikin is said to be very popular with mothers because it contains paracetamol, which reduces pain and fever in teething babies and another component, which induces babies to sleep, thereby relieving mothers of the fretfulness of teething babies.

But wise doctors are quick to warn against the indiscriminate use of teething products because of the linkage between over dosage of paracetamol and kidney damage. Even “common’ paracetamol should not be taken recklessly. Many Nigerians do not bother to heed the warning to “see the doctor if symptoms persist after two days of taking paracetamol.”

My Pikin tragedy should therefore serve as a lesson to all to avoid continuous usage of any drug without strict prescription by a qualified medical doctor.
For now, all efforts should be directed at removing the drugs from drug shelves across the country.
The campaign to intimate the public with the My Pikin development should not be limited to the major cities in the country. It should extend to all villages and towns to ensure that no more deaths are recorded on account of the administration of the drug.

The search for the importer of the drug should be continued to ensure that the source of the adulteration is determined and stopped from further merchandizing of the tainted product.
Above all, those, who have lost children in this sad incident, deserve every sympathy and help that can be afforded them at this time. The government must do everything in its power to get to the root of this so that the bereaved parents can be appropriately compensated by anyone who is determined to have contributed to the tainted paracetamol tragedy.

It is so sad that Jos is on the boil again. This time around, the problem has been traced to the manipulation of the electoral process by, who else, but the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). At least 367 persons have been reported dead, among them students.
The unfortunate incident, unfortunately, has taken on a religious undertone, and has descended into a Christian – Muslim contest. Just for how long will innocent lives be lost on account of political disagreements? Just for how long will desperation for political office be seen by some as a justifiable excuse for bloodletting?

One thing that is certain is that as long as political office remains enthroned as a war booty from which the winner is free to loot the government treasury dry, so long will Nigerians be ready to lose not only their arms, but also their legs, to get into political office.
The solution: Let public office be designed in a way that only serious minded and patriotic Nigerians will seek it. It should not be seen as a business where the winner takes all to the detriment of his opponents and the rest of his constituency. Public office should be tailored towards service. And not the kleptocracy that reigns in Nigeria today.
All parties to the present fighting should sheathe their swords and let true democracy and the rule of law prevails.

Re: Oshiomhole’s shot at history
The interplay of ups and downs in Nigerian politics is becoming interesting. A catalyst has found his way through the iron curtain by men who perpetuate themselves and their siblings on the rosy sides of power at the expense of the perceived voiceless Edo people. But they spoke loud and clear. INEC refused to hear but the court heard. Our optimism is high. Ride on, Comrade Oshiomhole.

Aghedo O Henry, Edo State.
To be continued