Health Ministry officials on Friday ruled out contamination by toxic glycols such as Diethylene Glycol (DEG) and Ethylene Glycol (EG) — chemicals that can cause severe kidney injury — in cough syrup samples tested after child deaths in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
A joint investigative team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National Institute of Virology (NIV), and Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) visited Chhindwara district in Madhya Pradesh to collect samples, the Health Ministry said in a press note.
An independent probe by the Madhya Pradesh State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) confirmed that the three cough syrup samples tested at the state laboratory were free of Diethylene Glycol (DEG) and Ethylene Glycol (EG).
Similar results were observed in cases of child deaths in Rajasthan linked to allegedly contaminated cough syrups.
The ministry said a multi-disciplinary team comprising experts from NCDC, NIV, ICMR, AIIMS Nagpur, and state health authorities is investigating all possible causes behind the reported deaths.
Testing of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples detected Leptospirosis — a preventable bacterial infection often linked to contaminated water or animal urine — in one sample, the ministry highlighted.
Other government laboratories are examining water, respiratory specimens, and entomological vectors to determine the cause of deaths more comprehensively.
Over a fortnight, nine children in the Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh and two children in Rajasthan, one in Sikar and another in Bharatpur, died after allegedly consuming contaminated cough syrups.
As the investigation continues, the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an advisory to all States and Union Territories on the rational use of cough syrups in the paediatric population.
The ministry stated that cough and cold medicines should not be prescribed to children under two years and cautioned against their use in children below five. If these medicines are used, they should be given only after careful clinical evaluation and strictly following the doctor’s prescribed dosage.