6 MP children die after consuming suspected contaminated cough syrup
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Bhopal: Six children died of kidney failure in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district in over the past 15 days after taking suspected contaminated cough syrup, NDTV reported.
Investigators link the cause of death of the children, all under the age of five, to contaminated cough syrup laced with toxic diethylene glycol.
As they initially suffered a cold and mild fever, local doctors prescribed them routine medication including cough syrups, according to the report.
After seemingly recovering, the symptoms returned along with an ‘alarming decrease in urine output’.
The children died after their condition worsened into kidney infections nevertheless receiving advanced treatment in Maharashtra's Nagpur.
One grieving parent was quoted as saying ‘Our children had never even been sick before,’ adding ‘this time, they had a small fever. After the syrup, their urine stopped. We couldn't save them.’
Later kidney biopsies found the presence of a toxic chemical diethylene glycol contamination. Children were given Coldrif and Nextro-DS syrups.
Following the incident Chhindwara Collector Sheelendra Singh banned the sale of two syrups in the district, alongside issuing an advisory to doctors, pharmacies, and parents.
‘The biopsy report strongly suggests contaminated medicine as the cause of kidney failure. Water samples from the affected villages have shown no infection. The drug link cannot be ignored,’ Singh was quoted as saying.
A two-member team from Bhopal's Health Department are reportedly interviewing families in Parasia, Newton Chikli and other villages alongside collecting medicine samples and carrying out ‘door-to-door surveys to identify other affected children’.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Naresh Gonare reportedly said that the first case was reported on August 24, before the first death reported on September 7.
‘Since September 20, more cases of urinary retention and kidney complications have emerged. This is a sensitive period for viral infections, but sudden kidney failure in so many children points to something far more dangerous,’ he was quoted as saying.
A team from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) that the district administration called in sent blood and medicine samples to the Virology Institute in Pune for further analysis.
