Do not sell or prescribe cough syrups to kids: Gurgaon civil surgeon to chemists, hospitals

“Though we have not received any official order yet from the State Directorate of Health Services, they have orally communicated to us to exercise full caution in this regard… On Sunday, we asked hospitals under us not to prescribe or sell cough syrup till we get more clarity about their origins and compliance with health safety and manufacturing norms,” Dr Singh said.

She added that chemists in the district, too, have been directed not to sell cough syrups sought for children, and the Indian Medical Association has also been alerted to pass on the instructions to doctors having private practice.

“We asked private hospitals too to ensure their paediatric units are not prescribing any cough syrups until further orders, for now. It is a matter of great concern that, after Madhya Pradesh, similar cases are being reported from Rajasthan too. I have called a meeting today (Monday) between chemists and paediatric doctors’ associations to discuss and deliberate on the issue, and take further action as may be needed,” Dr Singh told The Indian Express.

An area of focus for the department, and during the meeting, will be checking the extent of cough syrups being manufactured from Diethylene Glycol and Ethylene Glycol, which are harmful to health, she added.

The two are industrial solvents that can be toxic for the body when mixed with pharmaceutical ingredients, which they are not meant for.

When asked for alternatives for children in the meantime, Dr Singh said, “Cough syrups are anyway not necessary for young children. They can be given Ayurvedic (based) medicine too for cough and related symptoms.”

Between August and October, at least 11 children from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh district died, allegedly after consuming contaminated cough syrup.

On Saturday, the Madhya Pradesh government had ordered the immediate stoppage of sales and distribution of Coldrif Syrup, manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceutical, after a test report from the Government Analyst at the Drug Testing Laboratory in Chennai said its sample was “found to be adulterated, since it contains Diethylene Glycol (48.6% w/v) which is (a) poisonous substance which may render the contents injurious to health.”

Following the cough syrup-linked deaths, the Union Health Secretary chaired a high-level meeting with states and Union Territories (UTs) on the “quality and rational use of cough syrups”.

In the meeting, states and UTs were advised to ensure enhanced surveillance, timely reporting by all health facilities, and strengthening inter-state coordination for early reporting and joint action, among others.

In a Central government advisory issued on Friday, states and UTs were urged to ensure “rational use” of cough syrups, particularly stating they were not recommended for children below five years of age.

The deaths in Madhya Pradesh coincided with at least four recent casualties in Rajasthan, where children died allegedly after consuming cough syrup. Rajasthan has banned the distribution of cough syrups containing Dextromethorphan, as well as the distribution of all 19 types of medicines supplied by Kaysons Pharma, the company at the centre of the controversy, until further notice.             

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