CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s health regulator said on April 13 it is recalling batches of Johnson & Johnson’s children’s cough syrup after detection of high levels of diethylene glycol.

The affected batches were sold in South Africa, Eswatini, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria, the statement added.

The recall follows a report on April 10 by the regulator’s Nigerian counterpart, which first detected the toxin in a batch of Benylin Paediatric Syrup.

Kenya and Nigeria have already issued recalls for the same syrup, which is used in the treatment of hay fever and other allergic conditions affecting the upper respiratory tract.

Kenvue, which now owns the Benylin brand after a spin-off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, said in a statement that it is conducting its own assessment and working with the health authorities to determine a course of action.

“A review of our global safety database for the period between product release in May 2021 and up to April 11, 2024, did not identify any serious adverse events for any batch of Benylin Paediatric Syrup,” it said.

High levels of diethylene glycol in cough syrup have been linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since 2022 in one of the world’s worst waves of poisoning from oral medication. REUTERS