Explainer: Why cough syrup is proving fatal for kids
No lessons learnt from tragedies, systemic inertia that allows contamination in drugs to go unchecked — the lax regulatory system in the country is back in focus following a spate of deaths in MP, elsewhere
Updated At : 06:18 AM Oct 11, 2025 IST
According to the WHO, both DEG and EG can prove deadly. The harmful effects include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state, and acute kidney injury, which may lead to death. Reuters
INDIA is facing a repeat of past tragedies with the death of several children after consumption of contaminated paediatric cough syrups. Madhya Pradesh has reported at least 20 fatalities possibly linked to the adulterated Coldrif syrup — manufactured by Sresan Pharma based in Tamil Nadu — in the last month. Sample testing by the state’s drug controller revealed the presence of 48.6 per cent Diethylene Glycol (DEG), a toxic substance. The permissible limit is 0.1 per cent.
