Several states ramped up actions on Monday to halt the consumption and supply of Coldrif cough syrup following 14 fatalities of children linked to the medicine in Madhya Pradesh, where the government suspended three officials and transferred the drug controller.
These deaths due to suspected renal failure were reported from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh in a month.
The cough syrup, manufactured in Tamil Nadu, was found to be dangerously adulterated with the highly poisonous substance Diethylene Glycol (DEG).
The tragic deaths triggered a national health alert, leading to suspensions of officials in Madhya Pradesh, arrests, nationwide stock confiscations, and immediate, stringent changes to drug prescription guidelines in states like Kerala and Karnataka.
The Karnataka Health Department issued an advisory to healthcare institutions not to prescribe or dispense cough and cold syrups to children below the age of two.