DIG Polluted Cough Sirup Allegedly Caused Death Of 9 Children In India

Cough medicine is suspected to contain EDG (CNA/CNA)

JAKARTA - India's health authorities are investigating a possible link between contaminated cough mildes and the deaths of nine children in the state of Madhya Pradesh, after finding hazardous chemicals in one production batch.

India's Ministry of Health stated that the Coldrif Cough Syrup sample produced by Sresan Pharma in Tamil Nadu state was tested by local authorities and proved to contain a diethylene glycol (DEG) exceeding the allowed limits.

"The sample is proven to contain DEG beyond the safe limit," the Ministry of Health said in a statement, as reported by Reuters, Saturday, October 4.

DEG is a toxic solvent commonly used in industrial products and has been linked to a number of cases of fatal poisoning in various countries. The statement came after media reports that the deaths of nine children in Madhya Pradesh could be related to the consumption of cough mildes.

The Madhya Pradesh Food and Drug Administration (MPFDA) previously analyzed three of the 13 samples taken and the results were contamination-free, according to a ministry statement.

However, the Tamil Nadu drug authorities later confirmed the presence of DEG contamination on samples taken directly from the production facility of Sresan Pharma in Kanchipuram. Sresan Pharma has not yet responded to requests for comment sent via email.

As a follow-up, Indian health authorities conducted inspections of 19 pharmaceutical companies in six states to identify weaknesses in quality oversight while at the same time recommending improvements to prevent similar incidents.

India has in recent years been in the spotlight on the quality of pharmaceutical exports, after the World Health Organization (WHO) linked another Indian company-made cough drug warranty to the death of 70 children in Gambia in 2022. The findings were denied by the Government of India.