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A concerning report comes from Chhindwara district in Madhya Pradesh, where cases of kidney disease among children are steadily increasing.
So far, six children have died from this illness, while several others are in critical condition and admitted to major hospitals in Jabalpur and Nagpur. The affected children are between 1 and 5 years old, and the administration is fully alert.
Investigations revealed that children were given Coldrif and Nextro-DS cough syrup for cold, cough, and fever, which contained a toxic chemical called Diethylene Glycol, leading to kidney failure. The health department is conducting tests and screenings of children in the area.
Health officials in Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring Rajasthan, where a similar death was reported in Sikar a few days ago, now suspect that the cases of organ failure are linked to the consumption of contaminated cough syrups.
Parasia Sub-divisional magistrate Shubham Yadav informed that, as of late last night, nine children have died in Chhindwara. He added that precautionary measures are being implemented. Six deaths had been reported by October 1.
The tragic incidents have prompted urgent testing of dextromethorphan hydrobromide syrup batches and a statewide halt in their distribution.
Currently, a line list of 1,420 children affected by cold, fever, and flu-like symptoms is being closely monitored.
A protocol has been set: any child sick for more than two days is kept under six hours of monitoring at the Civil Hospital. If the condition worsens, the child is referred to the District Hospital. Once stable, they are sent home, and ASHA workers continue monitoring them.
Authorities revealed that water and mosquito-related tests conducted on the victims returned normal. One sample sent to the National Institute of Virology was also normal, they added. Water samples sent for testing by CSIR are awaited.
Private doctors have been instructed to exercise caution: any viral patient should not be treated privately but sent directly to the Civil Hospital.
The government’s nodal agency for disease surveillance, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), has collected water and entomological drug samples from hospitals and other sites in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where multiple children have died of kidney failure following alleged consumption of contaminated cough syrup.
The samples will be tested to rule out possible of any infectious disease. Once the test results are out, they will be shared with the state drug authorities, officials said, reported news agency PTI.
“The Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation (RMSCL) has banned the sale and use of 19 batches of the syrup and the health department has issued advisories to parents, doctors, and medical operators to be vigilant,” sources told PTI.