Cough syrup deaths: Health Ministry calls emergency meeting, nationwide alert issued

New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry has called an emergency meeting following reports of child deaths linked to cough syrup consumption in parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

The meeting, chaired by senior officials, includes State Health Secretaries and Drug Controllers from across India, with the agenda focused on ensuring stricter pharmaceutical quality control, compliance with manufacturing standards, and the prevention of future incidents.

The development comes after at least ten children died in Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh, after reportedly consuming Coldrif cough syrup. The victims, mostly under five years old, first displayed symptoms of cold and fever before their condition deteriorated into kidney-related complications. However, preliminary test results from the samples collected in Madhya Pradesh reportedly showed no traces of diethylene glycol or ethylene glycol, chemicals previously linked to similar poisoning cases abroad.

In Rajasthan, where three child deaths were reported, State Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar said the medicine was not prescribed by government doctors but purchased independently by parents. He maintained that laboratory tests conducted by both the state Drug Controller and the Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation Limited (RMSCL) found no contamination in the samples.

Meanwhile, political reactions have intensified. Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath alleged that the deaths in Madhya Pradesh were caused by contamination involving a "brake oil solvent" and criticised what he called administrative failure. He demanded ₹50 lakh compensation for each affected family, calling the incident a “man-made tragedy.”

Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Rajendra Shukla rejected the claim that the deaths were caused by the syrup, while Congress MLA Arif Masood accused the minister of “prematurely defending” the company before the investigation concluded.

BJP spokesperson Hitesh Bajpai stated that it was too early to assign blame without conclusive laboratory results, saying a full inquiry was necessary.

Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that the Drug Controller department had been instructed to conduct a thorough investigation, including verifying whether expired or mislabelled medicines were distributed. He confirmed that no cases had been reported in Tamil Nadu but added that the supply chain from the manufacturer was being reviewed.

Local authorities in Chhindwara confirmed that medical teams and administrative officials were continuously monitoring the health of affected children and updating the situation.