MP cough syrup deaths: Four-year-old dies months after being in coma in AIIMS Nagpur

Betul (MP): A four-year-old boy from Madhya Pradesh has died at AIIMS Nagpur, months after he fell critically ill and slipped into a coma after allegedly consuming Coldrif cough syrup, officials said. In September-October last year, at least 24 children died after consuming the cough syrup, which was found to contain a highly poisonous compound that causes renal failure. Harsh, from Tikabarri village in MP's Betul district bordering Chhindwara, had been in a coma for more than four months and was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of the 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 child’s death and said the post-mortem examination was conducted in Nagpur on Monday, and the body was handed over to the family. The exact cause of death would be ascertained after the post-mortem report, he said. Harsh’s uncle, Shyam Yadav, said the child’s last rites were performed on Monday evening. Yadav said his nephew was undergoing treatment under Dr S S Thakur in Parasia, Chhindwara, and the child’s condition deteriorated after consuming the cough syrup prescribed by him. Harsh remained admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for months, his uncle said. In October last year, several children in Parasia town of Chhindwara district fell ill after consuming Coldrif cough syrup, with complaints of vomiting, inability to urinate and fever. Investigations showed the syrup contained diethylene glycol, a toxic chemical that causes kidney failure. Following the death of several children from Chhindwara and Betul districts, the Drug Controller General of India had also conducted a probe into the matter.

Subsequently, the company owner 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 the cough syrup. A sample of the syrup, tested by a government Drug Testing Laboratory in Chennai, was declared "Not of Standard Quality" by the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Drug Control, officials earlier said. The Tamil Nadu drug control authorities, in their report dated October 2, declared the Coldrif syrup sample manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals, Kancheepuram, as adulterated because it contained 48.8 per cent diethylene glycol, a poisonous substance "which may render the contents injurious to health".