Children's deaths due to kidney failure in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara and Rajasthan caused by cough syrups?
Chhindwara: The mysterious deaths of children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have created panic within the health department. Several innocent children have died so far, and the situation is similar in almost all cases. All the children are said to have died due to kidney failure. The rising number of child deaths has shocked the government and administration.
Six children have died in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, within 22 days. Another child has died in Rajasthan. Doctors say all these children died due to kidney failure. It is suspected that these children died due to consuming cough syrup, as all initially complained of colds, flu, and fever. It is being reported that they had consumed certain brands of cough syrup.
According to an official, six children died in Chhindwara district between September 4 and September 26 due to kidney-related problems. Families of the victims said the children initially showed symptoms of cold, cough, and fever.
Contaminated cough syrup suspected as the cause of the deaths
What initially appeared to be a routine wave of seasonal fever took a sinister turn, with investigators suspecting contaminated cough syrup laced with toxic diethylene glycol as the cause of the deaths.
According to distraught families, the children, all under the age of five, had first complained of a cold and mild fever. Local doctors prescribed routine medication, including cough syrups, after which the children seemed to recover. But within days, the symptoms returned, followed by a sudden and alarming decrease in urine output. The condition quickly worsened into kidney infections.
Despite being rushed to Maharashtra's Nagpur for advanced treatment, three of the children died there.
"Our children had never even been sick before," said a grieving parent. "This time, they had a small fever. After the syrup, their urine stopped. We couldn't save them."
Kidney biopsies revealed presence of diethylene glycol contamination
The turning point came when kidney biopsies revealed the presence of diethylene glycol contamination, a toxic chemical often associated with pharmaceutical poisoning. Most of the victims had been administered Coldrif and Nextro-DS syrups.
Chhindwara Collector Sheelendra Singh immediately banned the sale of the two syrups across the district and issued an urgent advisory to doctors, pharmacies, and parents.
"The biopsy report strongly suggests contaminated medicine as the cause of kidney failure. Water samples from the affected villages have shown no infection. The drug link cannot be ignored," Singh said.
Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Deputy CM Rajendra Shukla has stated that the Health Department is closely monitoring the entire matter.