A four-year-old boy from Madhya Pradesh has died in AIIMS Nagpur, months after he fell seriously ill and slipped into a coma after allegedly consuming Coldriff cough syrup, officials said.
At least 24 children died after consuming cough syrup in September-October last year. (Pixaby/Representative image)In September-October last year, at least 24 children died after consuming cough syrup, which was found to contain a highly toxic compound that caused renal failure.
Harsh, of Tikabari village in MP’s Betul district bordering Chhindwara, was in a coma for over four months and was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital in Nagpur, where he died during treatment on Sunday night, an official said on Monday.
Betul’s Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Dr Manoj Hurmade, confirmed the death of the child and said a post-mortem examination was conducted in Nagpur on Monday and the body was handed over to the family.
He said that the exact cause of death will be known after receiving the post-mortem report.
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Harsh’s uncle Shyam Yadav said that the last rites of the child were completed on Monday evening.
Yadav said his nephew was under treatment under Dr SS Thakur at Parasia in Chhindwara and the child’s condition deteriorated after consuming the cough syrup prescribed by him.
Harsh had been admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for several months, his uncle said.
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In October last year, several children in Parasia town of Chhindwara district fell ill after consuming Coldriff cough syrup with complaints of vomiting, inability to urinate and fever.
Investigation revealed that the syrup contained diethylene glycol, a toxic chemical that causes kidney failure. After the death of several children from Chindwara and Betul districts, the Drug Controller General of India also investigated the matter.
Later, the owner of the company and a government doctor who recommended the syrup were arrested in the case.
In the first week of October, the Madhya Pradesh government banned the sale of cough syrup.
A sample of the syrup, tested by a government drug testing laboratory in Chennai, was declared “substandard” by the Tamil Nadu Drug Control Directorate, officials said earlier.
The Tamil Nadu Drug Control Authority, in its report dated October 2, declared a sample of Coldrif syrup manufactured by Kanchipuram’s Shreesan Pharmaceuticals as adulterated as it contained 48.8 per cent diethylene glycol, a toxic substance “which may render the contents injurious to health”.
