The PPB, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, Kenya’s drug authority, announced this on Thursday. The implicated medication is Benylin Pediatric from the Johnson & Johnson laboratory. The Kenyan Pharmacy and Poisons Board suspects this batch to be counterfeit.
“If you have a bottle of Benylin manufactured in May 2021 and expiring in April 2024, do not consume this product. Return it to a point of sale,” is the message disseminated by the Kenyan drug authority since Thursday.
The alert was issued by NAFDAC, the Nigerian Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. The day before, the Nigerian regulator announced the recall of Benylin syrup suspected to contain diethylene glycol. This chemical, colorless and odorless, is used, for example, in the manufacture of industrial gel, brake fluid, or cigarettes. It has been implicated in several health scandals that have killed dozens of children in Gambia, Cameroon, and Uzbekistan.
Consequently, the PPB has launched an investigation. The Kenyan drug authority announced that it is testing a large number of bottles from the implicated batch and urges all consumers to exercise utmost vigilance.
Benylin Pediatric is produced in South Africa by Kenvue, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. For now, the laboratory is not willing to comment.