India probes possible cough syrup link to deaths of nine children

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By Manoj Kumar and Rishika Sadam

NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD (Reuters) -Indian authorities said on Saturday they are investigating if contaminated cough syrup caused the deaths of nine children in a central state after a batch of the medication was found to contain dangerous levels of a toxic chemical.

The Health Ministry said samples of Coldrif Cough Syrup, manufactured by Sresan Pharma in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, were tested by state authorities and found to contain diethylene glycol (DEG) exceeding permissible limits.

“The samples are found to contain DEG beyond the permissible limit,” the ministry said in a statement.

DEG, a toxic solvent used in industrial products, has been linked to fatal poisoning in several countries.

The statement comes after media reports suggested that recent deaths of nine children in the central state of Madhya Pradesh could have been linked to cough syrup consumption.

The Madhya Pradesh Food and Drug Administration (MPFDA) also analysed three of 13 samples collected, which were found free of contamination, the ministry statement said.

However, Tamil Nadu’s drug regulator later confirmed DEG contamination in samples taken directly from Sresan Pharma’s manufacturing site in Kanchipuram, it said.

Sresan Pharma did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by email.

Authorities have launched inspections of 19 drug manufacturers across six states to identify quality control lapses and recommend improvements to prevent future incidents, the ministry said.

India has faced scrutiny over the quality of its pharmaceutical exports after the World Health Organization linked cough syrups made by another company to the deaths of 70 children in Gambia in 2022 — a finding that New Delhi later disputed.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Rishika Sadam)