Govt issues advisory to 'rationalise cough syrup usage' after drug-linked deaths in MP

The recommendations come after nine children died from consuming allegedly spurious cough syrup in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district.

The directorate general of health services (DGHS) on October 3 issued an advisory to rationalise the usage of cough syrup in paediatric population.

The health services agency said cough and cold medications should not be prescribed to children under the age of 2 years.

“These are generally not recommended for ages below 5 years and above that, any use should follow careful clinical evaluation with close supervision and strict adherence to appropriate dosing, the shortest effective duration and avoiding multiple drugs combinations,” the advisory said.

Moreover, DGHS said the people should be sensitised to adhering to what the doctors have prescribed.

The recommendations come after nine children died from consuming allegedly spurious cough syrup in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district.

Soon after the deaths, the Madhya Pradesh State Food and Drug Controller Dinesh Kumar Maurya requested the Tamil Nadu State Drug Control Department to inspect and act against the Srisan Pharmaceutical Factory located in Kancheepuram, following which a probe was initiated.

Multiple drug control officers from Delhi and Chennai investigated the manufacturing unit of the pharmaceutical factory in Tamil Nadu.

Earlier in the day, samples of a cough syrup linked to the deaths of several children were collected from a pharmaceutical unit in Jabalpur on Friday and were sent for laboratory testing, an official said

According to the families of the affected children, initially, the children suffered from colds, coughs, and fevers. After that, their kidneys become affected, and their condition worsens.

The Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Dr Naresh Gunnade, said that authorities from the Centre and the State were called to probe the reason behind the kidney failures. They have collected the sample and sent it for examination, whose report is yet to arrive.

With agency inputs