Sixteen infants who were poisoned by excessive doses of Phenobarbital distributed at a Monos branch in Ulaanbaatar were taken to the National Centre for Maternal and Child Health (NCMCH).

The Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection (AFCCP) forced the Monos pharmaceutical chain to close temporally, as the medicine sold at the branches was not registered in the national drug registry.

All 20 branches of Monos will be closed today according to a decision made by the Authority for Fair Competition and Consumer Protection.

A task force sent by the AFCCP will determine how much Phenobarbital has been sold to customers, and will then remove the medicine from the pharmacies.

Phenobarbital is given for the treatment of infant seizures. Excessive doses can cause serious pneumonia, dangerously high blood pressure, and kidney failure.