[Global Times reports reporter He Shan] The death of children taking "toxic syrup" in Madhya Pradesh, India, has continued to ferment recently. According to Indian media reports on the 8th, the number of children in Madhya Pradesh known to have died from taking "toxic syrup" since the end of August has risen to 20, and many other children have received treatment for renal failure.
According to reports, the case was named "Coldrif", produced by Tamil Nadu Pharmaceutical Company "Treshan Pharmaceuticals". The incident originally occurred in the central province of Chindravara. The state official, Raginda Shukra, said on 6th that several children experienced vomiting, vomiting, kidney failure and other symptoms after taking the plasma. After the successive deaths of several children, a laboratory test found that the plasma contained up to 48.6% of the industrial solvent dihanol, far above the safety standards.
Chief Minister of the Central State, Mohammad Hadi, has demanded that the government bear the medical expenses of all the children affected and has sent a joint team of officials and doctors to follow up with the relief of the sick children. At the same time, pediatrician Pravan Sonny, who is involved in the case, has been detained. But this move has sparked protests in the medical community of India, and the Central State Department of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for the doctor's release and threatened to launch an indefinite strike throughout the state if the claims are not met.
As the number of deaths continued to rise, the incident sparked massive political controversy in India. New Delhi TV said the opposition blamed the poisoning incident on the government’s “criminal offence and corruption” and demanded the central state health minister’s home to be punished for the “destroyer demolition” in order to demonstrate punishment. In addition, two other cough drops produced in Gujarat have also been detected to contain over-the-counter dihanol, and authorities have initiated prohibition procedures.
According to the BBC, the tragedy once again exposed severe flaws in India’s drug regulation system. This is not the first time a similar problem has arisen in India. In 2023, the production of anti-cough pulp in India has resulted in the deaths of about 70 children in Gambia and 18 children in Uzbekistan. Experts say that hundreds of small pharmaceutical factories in India have low-cost, unauthorized pulp outbreaks and poor regulation by the pharmaceutical regulator.
The BBC reported that the deeper problem lies in Indian society's over-reliance on cough syrup. Due to the weak medical system in rural India, about 75% of basic diagnosis and treatment are completed by unqualified "barefoot doctors", and cough syrup has become its main medication. Rajalam Hal, a pediatrician in Mumbai, said that most children's coughs are actually allergic reactions caused by air pollution, but many doctors are still prescribing syrups with little effect. In addition, the anxiety of patients' families and blind trust in drugs further pushed up the abuse rate of cough syrup.