Overview of Cough Syrup Contamination Incident

In response to the deaths of at least 14 children in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district due to alleged consumption of contaminated cough syrups, states have raised vigilance levels to monitor the prescription and dispensing of these medications.

Actions Taken by Authorities

• National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Involvement:
  • Issued notices to Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh to investigate child deaths linked to contaminated cough syrup.
  • Ordered the immediate ban on the sale of spurious medicines.
• Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI):
  • Instructed an investigation into the supply of spurious drugs.
  • Directed state laboratories to collect and test drug samples.

Contaminants Found

• Authorities found contaminants such as diethylene glycol (DEG) in Coldrif cough syrup samples collected from Madhya Pradesh.

State-Specific Responses

• Maharashtra:
  • The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised halting the sale or use of a specific Coldrif syrup batch.
• Telangana:
  • Directed district medical and health officers to inform the public about the particular batch alert.
  • Encouraged reporting of possession of the specific batch (SR-13) to local drug control authorities.
• Karnataka:
  • Health Minister assured that the "substandard" syrup linked to other states' deaths was not supplied in Karnataka.

General Precautions

• Parents are advised to be cautious when administering cough syrups to children under five years of age.