MP: Coldrif cough syrup fatality count rises to 24 after two more children die

Chhindwara (MP), Oct 15 (PTI) The death toll in the adulterated cough syrup tragedy mounted to 24 after two more children from Chhindwara district died of suspected renal failure during treatment in Nagpur in neighbouring Maharashtra, an official said on Wednesday.

The latest victims include nine-month-old Divyanshu Yaduwanshi and Ambika Vishwakarma, aged three years, said Additional Collector of Chhindwara, Dhirendra Singh.

He said Yaduwanshi and Vishwakarma were residents of Parasia town and Kakai Bohana in Chhindwara, respectively.

Yaduwanshi died during treatment at a hospital in Nagpur on Sunday, while Vishwakarma succumbed to the infection on Tuesday.

"Ambika Vishwakarma was admitted to New Health City Hospital in Nagpur in critical condition on September 14. Her health didn't improve during treatment. She died on Tuesday night", Singh said, adding that the latest deaths have taken the toll to 24, while two more children are undergoing treatment.

The 24 children, mostly under the age of five, have died due to suspected kidney failure after being administered Coldrif. Besides, at least three children have allegedly died in Rajasthan after consuming cough syrup in different districts of the state.

The tragedy prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to issue an alert against three "substandard" oral cough syrups identified in India -- Coldrif, Respifresh TR and ReLife.

On October 2, the Tamil Nadu director of drugs control found that the Coldrif samples were not of standard quality. Three days later, Madhya Pradesh also reported that one sample of Coldrif had 48.6% of diethylene glycol in it, far exceeding the 0.1% permissible limit as an impurity.

MP Police subsequently arrested Chhindwara-based Dr Praveen Soni for alleged negligence.

Following the deaths of children, the formulation has been banned in Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry, West Bengal, and Delhi.

A special investigation team (SIT) of Madhya Pradesh arrested Tamil Nadu-based Sresan Pharma Company owner G Ranganathan on October 9.

The Tamil Nadu government on Monday stated that it has revoked the manufacturing licence of Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer and shut down the company. PTI COR MAS NSK