Three states ban the cough syrup after youngsters die allegedly after consuming the product.
Printed On 5 Oct 2025
Indian authorities say they’re investigating whether or not contaminated cough syrup prompted the deaths of 9 youngsters, all aged beneath 5 years, within the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan since late August.
The investigation was ordered by the federal Ministry of Well being and Household Welfare on Saturday after a batch of the remedy was discovered to include harmful ranges of a toxic chemical.
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The ministry mentioned samples of Coldrif cough syrup, manufactured by Sresan Pharma within the southern state of Tamil Nadu, had been examined by state authorities and located to include diethylene glycol (DEG) exceeding permissible limits.
DEG is a poisonous substance utilized in industrial solvents that may be deadly if ingested even in small quantities.
“The samples are discovered to include DEG past the permissible restrict,” the Well being Ministry mentioned in a press release.
Mohan Yadav, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, the place a lot of the deaths have been reported, mentioned the sale of the syrup has been banned all through the central state.
“The sale of different merchandise from the corporate that manufactures the syrup can also be being banned,” he mentioned.
Authorities within the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala additionally banned the product, native media reviews mentioned, after Tamil Nadu’s drug regulator confirmed DEG contamination in samples taken straight from Sresan Pharma’s manufacturing web site in Kanchipuram.
Nonetheless, the Madhya Pradesh Meals and Drug Administration (MPFDA) mentioned three of the 13 samples it analysed had been discovered freed from contamination, based on the Well being Ministry assertion.
Authorities have launched inspections of 19 drug producers throughout six states to establish high quality management lapses and advocate enhancements to stop future incidents, the ministry mentioned.
Sresan Pharma didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark despatched by electronic mail, the Reuters information company reported.
Cough syrups manufactured in India have come underneath global scrutiny lately, with deaths linked to their consumption reported from around the globe, together with the dying of greater than 70 youngsters in The Gambia in 2022.
