More than 30 children in Nigeria have recently died after being given the medication "My Pikin" that contained the toxic chemical diethylene glycol.

After a large number of children who had been given the medicine died, Nigeria's Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) tested the medicine and discovered it contained almost 90ml of the poison diethylene glycol per 100ml.

Diethylene glycol is an anti-freeze and it is also used in the production of plastics. The medicine should have contained propylene glycolis, which is used in pharmeceuticals and is safe for human consumption

The producion of diethylene glycol is similar to the production of propylene glycolis, which is an ingredient used in medicine, but the two chemicals are completely different. While propylene glycolis is used in medicines for humans, diethylene glycol is a poison that destroys the kidneys, affects the brains and lungs and causes a general multi-organ failure that kills.

The propylene glycolis in the product was contaminated with the toxic diethylene glycol, which costs less than propylene glycolis. And there is incentive for criminals to substitute cheaper toxic ingredients in medications regardless of how many people are sickened or killed, because doing so is profitable. Counterfieit drug sales are big business and expected to reach $75 billion in 2010.

Authorities charged the "My Pikin" factory's managing director and eight others with negligence.

NAFDAC officials say that most of the counterfeit drugs come from India and China and say that the trans-national network of counterfeit drug criminals can only be stopped by international cooperation.

In 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found toxic toothpaste from China containing diethylene glycol and halted imports of the product. Several other nations also found the tainted Chinese toothpaste in stores in their countries.