At least 20 children under age of five die after taking contaminated cough syrup

At least 20 children - all under the age of five - have tragically died in central India after taking a toxic cough syrup, according to local reports.

The tots died in the state of Madhya Pradesh over the past month after consuming cough medicine containing diethylene glycol in quantities nearly 500 times the permissible limit, officials said. DEG is a "toxic" substance "used as industrial solvents and antifreeze agents that can be fatal even taken in small amounts, especially for children", according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Police have reportedly arrested S. Ranganathan, the owner of Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, the company behind the deadly Coldrif syrup.

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"20 children have lost their lives in the unfortunate incident from Chhindwara, Betul and Pandhurna districts," Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister Rajendra Shukla told Asia News International. Ranganathan, based in the Tamil Nadu state, was arrested on Wednesday in Chennai.

He is due to appear in court before being transferred to Chhindwara, the city's superintendent of police Ajay Pandey told the outlet. Local drug authorities have ramped up efforts to remove contaminated medicine from circulation - testing random samples and even making door-to-door calls to retrieve bottles of Coldrif.

"We (have) got 30-40 bottles (through this means)... we (also) recalled some from retailers and stockists," district administrator Harendra Narayan said. He added that 594 bottles of the syrup had been sold to pharmaceutical distributors in the region over the last six weeks.

Indian drugmakers are legally required to test each batch of raw materials and final products. Since 2023, exports of cough syrups have also required additional testing at government-approved laboratories, following the deaths of over 10 children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon linked to Indian syrups.

Indian authorities have also urged people to avoid two other locally sold syrups - Respifresh and RELIFE - made by Shape Pharma and Rednex Pharmaceuticals, both based in Gujarat, after tests revealed they too contained the same toxic chemical.

In a statement, the WHO expressed its "deep concern over these developments" in India and highlighted several issues: "The potential risk of contaminated products being exported to other countries, particularly via unregulated channels.

"The regulatory gap in DEG/EG screening for domestically marketed medicines in India. Identifying the source of the contamination and identifying and removing any contaminated pharmaceutical material which may be in circulation."

India is the third-largest drug producer by volume after the United States and China, supplying 40 per cent of generic medicines used in the U.S. and over 90 per cent of all medicines used in many African countries.