Multidisciplinary team probing to assess cause of cough syrup deaths in MP, Rajasthan: Govt

New Delhi, Oct 4 (IANS) After detecting highly toxic chemical diethylene glycol (DEG) in samples of cough syrups manufactured by Tamil Nadu-based drug manufacturer, the Union government has informed that a multidisciplinary team comprising experts from central agencies such as NIV, ICMR, and CDSCO are probing to assess the cause of deaths in children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

About nine children have in recent weeks succumbed to death in MP's Chhindwara, and two children died in Rajasthan -- one in Bharatpur and another in Sikar after consuming counterfeit cough syrup in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh due to suspected kidney failure.

"A multidisciplinary team comprising experts from NIV, ICMR, NEERI, CDSCO, and AIIMS, Nagpur, etc. are continuing the analyses of the various samples and factors to assess the cause of deaths," said the Ministry of Health, in an official statement.

A probe undertaken by the Tamil Nadu FDA at the behest of the MP government, it was found that the cough syrups contained DEG beyond the permissible limits.

“At the request of the MP Govt, Tamil Nadu FDA had taken samples of Coldrif Cough Syrup from the manufacturing premises of Sresan Pharma in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. The samples are found to contain DEG beyond the permissible limit,” the Ministry said.

The company has been ordered to explain the findings and cease production until further notice.

Earlier, the Tamil Nadu government had issued a statewide ban on the cough syrup brand Coldrif, enforced from October 1, after concerns that the medicine may have been linked to the death of at least 11 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Health authorities have also cleared stocks of the syrup from the local market to prevent further risk.

According to officials, the same manufacturer had supplied its cough syrups to multiple states, including Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Puducherry, raising concerns about the reach of the potentially unsafe product.

The Ministry noted that the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) had earlier collected six samples, all of which tested negative for the toxic chemicals DEG and ethylene glycol (EG).

Simultaneously, the Madhya Pradesh Food and Drug Administration (MPFDA) collected 13 samples, three of which were analysed and also found to be free of contaminants.

Meanwhile, the government has initiated a risk based on inspection at the manufacturing premises of all the 19 drugs sampled, spread across six states.

“This will help find out the gaps leading to quality failure of drug samples, and suggesting process improvement to avoid such incidents in the future,” the Ministry said.

--IANS

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