Published on : 03 Nov 2025, 11:41 am

At least 24 children, all under five, have died in Madhya Pradesh over the past month after consuming adulterated cough syrup. Most of the victims were from Chhindwara, with some cases reported in the neighbouring districts of Betul and Pandhurna. Three more children remained in critical condition in Nagpur at the time the magazine went to print. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that the deaths have been linked to specific batches of three oral liquid medicines, Coldrif, Respifresh TR and ReLife, which were found to contain diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic industrial solvent. CDSCO said the contaminated syrups had not been

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