Naturcold syrup Absent in Yaounde pharmacies

This product which caused the death of 06 and 03 children in the North-West and South-West respectively, is not present in any pharmacy in Yaounde.

Divine KANANYET

Fake medicines continue
to wreak havoc. In Yaounde, pharmacists are becoming more and more careful. Forbidden, expired or otherwise harmful drugs are being withdrawn from the counters.
Naturcold”, a children’s syrup that has killed 09 children in the North-West and South-West regions, is not present in the pharmacies of Cameroon’s capital, or better still, has never existed, according to the staff. “We don’t have Naturcold here, we have never even had it. But for coughs, there is a wide range of syrup for children. And then Naturcold from the Fraken laboratory,
(because I don’t know if another laboratory makes it), kills. Any pharmacy owner has to be removed,” says a staff member
working in a pharmacy in the city of seven hills.
Like the latter, several others reiterate the harmful nature of this product, and have posted warning messages in front of some pharmacies: “beware of Naturcold syrup”. “This syrup has already killed several children in the NOSO. We can’t have it here, don’t give it to your children. By the way, look at the entrance of the pharmacy, there is more information
on the message,” says another staff member on duty in a pharmacy in the city. Indeed, according to the communiqué of the North West Regional Delegate
for Public Health, Dr KINGSLEY
CHE SOH, of 13 April 2023, this drug, which is not authorised
for sale in Cameroon, was purchased from an unauthorised source.
Origin of the deaths
Naturcold, a syrup used against cough in children, killed six children
under the age of five in this region in the Fundong health district. A month before, on March 9, 2023, the same syrup had already caused the death of 03 children in the South West, recorded in the health district of Tombel. According to the statement
by Dr. Filbert Eko Eko, “Naturcold” contains two active agents that present health risks and would be the cause of these deaths. This product, which is sold in the North-West and South-West of Cameroon, is illegal
and dangerous for the health of children.