Cough syrup death toll reaches 24 in India's Madhya Pradesh

NEW DELHI: The alleged cough syrup-related deaths in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have risen to 24, officials said Friday.

The children, mostly under the age of five, have died in the past month due to suspected renal failure after developing complications following the consumption of cough syrup, namely Coldrif.

“The death toll of children related to the adulterated cough syrup has risen to 25, but authorities so far have confirmed only 24 fatalities. The death of one more child is yet to be confirmed officially,” a local government official said.

Over 20 deaths have been reported from the state’s Chhindwara district alone.

The cough syrup manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals, based in Tamil Nadu’s Kancheepuram, has been found adulterated with over 45 percent of diethylene glycol, a toxic industrial solvent.

Police on Thursday arrested Govindan Ranganathan, owner of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, from his Chennai residence, along with his two employees. Following his arrest, the company has been permanently shut down.

Ranganathan faces charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, drug adulteration and violations of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

The World Health Organization has voiced deep concern over gaps in India’s drug safety regulations. The global health body has warned that such medicines could reach other countries through unregulated distribution channels.

Earlier, India advised the public to avoid Respifresh and RELIFE, two more brands of cough syrup.

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 say. The deaths were all linked to the Coldrif medicine, banned after a test confirmed the presence of the chemical on October 2.

The Respifresh and RELIFE syrups also contain diethylene glycol, according to a public alert by Gujarat and other states on Wednesday that described it as “a toxic chemical that can cause serious poisoning, including kidney failure, neurological complications and even death, especially among children”.

The World Health Organization told Reuters it was seeking clarification from New Delhi on whether a cough syrup linked to the deaths has been exported to other countries.

WHO ADVISES AGAINST COUGH AND COLD MEDICINES FOR CHILDREN

Coldrif, made by Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, was only sold locally, according to a government document seen by Reuters.

Gujarat officials said the other two syrups were sold in other Indian states but did not refer to exports. The companies and drug officials did not respond to questions over whether the other two syrups were exported as well.

The WHO said it will assess the need for a Global Medical Products Alert on Coldrif syrup once it receives official confirmation from Indian authorities.

The UN health agency is continuing to advise against the use of cough and cold medicines for children.

The country’s drug controller general, Rajeev Raghuvanshi, said the regulator had found serious lapses at factories making the drugs in checks that showed they failed to test every batch of medicinal ingredients as required.

In the advisory dated October 7 and posted on a government website, Raghuvanshi did not name any companies or the number of them that were found to have flouted rules, but said the inspections had been carried out at firms whose drugs had earlier been found to be below standard quality.

By law, Indian drugmakers must test each batch of raw materials and the final product. Exports of cough syrups have required another layer of tests at government-mandated laboratories since 2023 following the deaths of over 140 children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon linked to Indian syrups.