Karnataka issues advisory on cough syrups; state on alert mode after kids’ death in MP, Rajasthan

Bengaluru: After a series of deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, caused by the consumption of cough syrup, the Karnataka government has cautioned against the use of Coldrilf Syrup, Batch No. SR-13, Mfg. Date: May 2025, Expiry Date: April 2027, Manufactured by M/s Sreesan Pharma, Kanchipuram and Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide Syrup IP, Manufactured by M/s Kaysons Pharma, Jaipur.

The government has advised the enforcement officials to watch out for the combination and batch number and if the same has been found with any distributors, retailers or government institutions, they should immediately draw samples for drug test. If found to be fatal, necessary action will be initiated under Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

All samples

Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundurao said, “As a precautionary measure, samples of cough syrups from all companies are being collected and tested. The health department has already initiated preventive steps to ensure the safety of syrups in circulation”.

The state’s drug control department has been vigilant for a long time. Karnataka ranks among the top states in the country for medicine testing, he added. 

“The cough syrups that caused the deaths of children in other states have not been supplied in Karnataka,” the minister clarified.

He advised parents to be cautious while giving syrup to children below five years of age. 

The minister emphasized that there was a need for stronger central laws to curb adulteration and for an inter-state information sharing system to be established. 

The Centre should create a dedicated website for real-time exchange of information of drug adulteration. 

“I had earlier written to the union government regarding the drug adulteration, counterfeit medicines and testing mechanisms,” he added. 

Advisory issued

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an advisory directing that cough and cold syrups should not be prescribed or dispensed to children below two years of age. For children between two and five years of age, such medications should generally be avoided, unless clearly indicated and prescribed after proper clinical evaluation. It also states that for older children, cough syrups, if required, must be used only after a thorough clinical assessment, in the lowest effective dose and for the shortest duration, and fixed dose. Also, multi-drug combinations (irrational combinations, oral bronchodilators, cough suppressants) should be avoided.

It further directs all healthcare providers to adhere to the Standard Treatment Protocols Therapeutic Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the lntegrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood illness (lMNCl) guidelines for the clinical management of cough and respiratory symptoms in children. 

Any adverse events or suspected cases of cough syrup-related toxicity or death, as well as any unusual or unexplained increase in incidence of cough among children or the community, must be promptly investigated and reported in the lHlP portal of the lntegrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP)Division, Directorate of Health & Family Welfare.