The children died in India over the past month after consuming cough medicine containing toxic diethylene glycol in quantities nearly 500 times the permissible limit, officials says
Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla on Tuesday said a total of 20 children from the state have died so far while undergoing treatment for kidney failure after drinking a contaminated cough syrup. He said five children are currently being treated in Nagpur - two each in Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and one in a private hospital. Earlier, the state government had confirmed the deaths of 16 children from Chhindwara who had allegedly consumed cough syrup Coldrif, samples of which were found to have toxic contents. Talking to reporters here after visiting the children undergoing treatment, Shukla said, "So far, 20 children from Madhya Pradesh have died while undergoing treatment...Two of them died in the past 24 hours." Describing the fatalities as extremely tragic, he said the MP government will extend all possible help to the affected families. The syrup responsible for the deaths was manufactured by
Two more children from Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara who were undergoing treatment for kidney failure after drinking a contaminated cough syrup have died, taking the number of such deaths in the district to 16, an official said on Tuesday. "Today, the death of another girl was reported. So far, 16 children have died in the district," said Chhindwara Additional Collector Dhirendra Singh. Earlier, the state government had confirmed the deaths of 14 children from Chhindwara who had allegedly consumed the cough syrup Coldrif, samples of which were found to have toxic contents. Jayusha Yaduvanshi (2), a resident of Junnardeo in the district, died on Tuesday at a government hospital in Nagpur. Another six children from Chhindwara are undergoing treatment at various hospitals in Nagpur, and the condition of five of them remains critical, the additional collector said. Two-and-half-year-old Dhani Deharia, a resident of Bhariyadhana village in Tamia block, had died on Monday while undergoing
With this, the state joins Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, who have already announced bans on the cough syrup
Diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol are industrial chemicals used in making products like brake fluids, antifreeze, paints, and plastics, and are highly toxic to humans
A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking inquiry and systemic reform in drug safety mechanisms in the wake of deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan allegedly due to consumption of toxic cough syrups. The PIL, filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, seeks a court-monitored probe into the incidents and urges the constitution of a National Judicial Commission or Expert Committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge. The PIL requests that all pending FIRs and investigations concerning the deaths of children caused by toxic cough syrups across states be transferred to the CBI. It seeks a probe under the supervision of a retired Supreme Court judge to ensure fairness and uniformity. The petition contends that separate state-level investigations have led to fragmented accountability, enabling repeated lapses that allow hazardous formulations to reach the market. The petition comes amid reports from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where several children allegedly died afte
The Punjab government has banned the sale, distribution and use of Coldrif cough syrup in the wake of 14 children dying in Madhya Pradesh, reportedly due to the consumption of the contaminated medicine. An order issued by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Punjab government, on Monday said it has come to the notice of this office that Coldrif syrup has been declared as not of standard quality by the government analyst, drugs testing laboratory, and FDA, Madhya Pradesh. The drug's batch number is SR-13, manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceutical, Bangalore Highways, Sunguvarchatram (Mathura), Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. The aforementioned drug formulation is reported to be adulterated, as it contains Diethylene Glycol (46.28 per cent w/v), which makes it injurious to health," the order said. Considering the seriousness of the matter, as the said product has been observed to be linked to the recent deaths of children in the Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh, the ...
Kerala Health Department has also asked the Drugs Controller to issue a notice to pharmacies not to sell pediatric drugs to children without a doctor's prescription
Deaths from ingesting contaminated cough syrups in India have occurred with distressing frequency for decades
NHRC issues notices to MP, Rajasthan and UP, asks states to probe children's deaths from alleged use of contaminated cough syrups
A batch of Coldrif cough syrup has been linked to multiple child deaths. Several states have banned its sale and authorities are probing the cases
DEG contamination in Coldrif cough syrup from Tamil Nadu has triggered state bans and a national probe amid fears of child deaths linked to toxic medicines
The Karnataka government has directed all enforcement officers to maintain strict vigil over certain cough syrups following reports of child deaths linked to their consumption in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. In a circular dated October 5, the Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) said that in view of recent incidents where deaths have been reported in Madhya Pradesh following the consumption of Coldrif Syrup (Batch No. SR-13), manufactured by a Tamil Nadu-based pharma unit, the Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department has prohibited the purchase, sale and consumption of the said batch in that state. Further, a few deaths of children have been reported in Rajasthan due to the consumption of Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide Syrup IP, manufactured by Kaysons Pharma, Jaipur, it stated. "All enforcement officers in the state of Karnataka are hereby instructed to keep a strict vigil on the above drugs/batch number and similar combinations from manufacturers. Any stockist, distributor, ...
The Telangana government has directed all District Medical and Health Officers (DM&HOs) to sensitise public on the 'alert' concerning the Coldrif cough syrup, which has been found "adulterated" with a toxic substance. In a communication to the DM&HOs, the Telangana government's Director of Public Health directed the officials to raise public awareness about the alert issued on September 4 by the state Drugs Control Administration to stop using Coldrif syrup of Batch No. SR-13, which has been allegedly found adulterated with Diethylene Glycol (DEG), a toxic substance. If people are in possession of the syrup, they should immediately report to the local drug control authority on its toll free number, the communication (dated October 5), shared with the media on Monday, said. The Director of Public Health also asked DM&HOs to strictly implement and disseminate the advisory issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Union Ministry of Health, regarding the ...
The Madhya Pradesh police have formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the death of 14 children in Chhindwara due to suspected renal failure, linked to the consumption of a toxic cough syrup, officials said. Dr Praveen Soni from Chhindwara has been arrested for alleged negligence in connection with the child deaths, while a case has been registered against the Coldrif cough syrup manufacturing company, the officials said on Sunday. The body of the last victim was exhumed on Sunday for a post-mortem. Chhindwara Additional Collector Dhirendra Singh said that ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each, announced by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, has been transferred to the bank accounts of the victims' families. Eight children are being treated in Nagpur -- four in a government hospital, one at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and three in private facilities, he said. Meanwhile, two children in MP's Betul district have died allegedly after taking Coldrif cough syrup, heal
The order also prohibits the import and export of the cough syrup in government and private institutions until further notice
Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava chaired a meeting with states after 11 children died in MP and Rajasthan, stressing strict GMP compliance and rational use of cough syrups in children
The Madhya Pradesh government has banned the sale of Coldrif cough syrup following the death of 14 children in Chhindwara due to suspected renal failure, with officials stating the drug samples were found to contain a highly toxic substance. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has also initiated risk-based inspections at the manufacturing units of 19 drugs, including cough syrups and antibiotics, across six states, the Union health ministry said on Saturday. A sample of the syrup, tested by the government drug analyst at the Drug Testing Laboratory in Chennai, was declared "Not of Standard Quality" by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Drug Control, officials said here. The action by the Madhya Pradesh government came in the wake of the deaths of 14 children in Chhindwara district due to suspected kidney failure. Of these, 10 deaths were reported in Parasia subdivision since September 7, local officials said. Yogita (2), a resident of Parasia, died at a Nagpur hospit
The conference aims to discuss the rational use of cough syrups and ensure the quality of drugs following multiple child deaths linked to Coldrif cough syrup
Following the advisory issued by the Central Government, the state has appealed to doctors not to prescribe banned cough syrups for children