Today we focus on the fourth leaflet: At least 20 children in the central state of India have unfortunately died from taking the toxic anticoagulant "Coldrif", and several children have kidney failure.

In late August 2025, a wave of seasonal colds and mild fever occurred in central Punjab, India, affecting mainly young children aged 1 to 6. Doctors in local clinics and hospitals issued routine prescriptions to ease symptoms, including toothpaste, to ease symptoms. At first, everything seemed normal, and the symptoms of the children were relieved after taking the medication. However, after a few days, many children began to experience nausea, vomiting and abdominal discomfort, and then rapidly developed into a critical condition of urinary acute reduction and renal failure. Parents recalled that the children originally were just a normal cough, but were in a life-threatening situation in a short time. One of the seven-year-old mother described her son as still out of danger

Preliminary investigations revealed that most of the children victims had taken "Coldrif" syrup, which was produced by the "Srisen Pharmaceutical Company" company located in Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu, southern India. Authorities immediately collected syrup samples and sent them to the laboratory for testing. On October 2, a test report from the Tamil Nadu Drug Control Department confirmed that the "Coldrif" sample contained 48.6% diethylene glycol, which is much higher than the 0.1% upper limit set by the World Health Organization and Indian authorities.

Diethylene glycol is a cheap industrial solvent commonly used in antifreeze and brake fluids, but it is highly toxic to the human body. Even small amounts of ingestion can lead to tubular necrosis, acute kidney damage, and even death. Another test in Maharashtra showed that diethylene glycol content in the sample was as high as 46.28%, further confirming this finding.

Subsequently, several Indian states announced bans on "Coldrif" syrup, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav publicly expressed condolences for the lost children and announced that they would provide 400,000 rupees (about 32,000 RMB) to each child victim's family. Compensation, while promising to bear the cost of treatment for all surviving children. The company "Srisen Pharmaceutical Company", which produces toxic syrups, was subject to a comprehensive review. When investigators conducted a surprise inspection of the company's factory, they found that the production environment and sanitary conditions were extremely poor, with a lack of air treatment facilities, severe corrosion of equipment, and no pest control. and cleaning system, there were also problems such as missing raw material testing, improper batch release and misleading labeling. The company is currently facing license revocation and criminal charges, and its operations have basically stalled.