Contaminated cough syrups not exported from India: CDSCO to WHO

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) Even as the death toll from toxic cough syrup rose to 22, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) informed the World Health Organisation (WHO) that none of the three cough syrups -- Coldrif, Respifresh TR, and ReLife -- were exported from India.

This comes as the UN health agency on Wednesday sought answers from the Indian authorities over the export of Coldrif in view of several deaths among young children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan due to acute renal failure and acute encephalitis syndrome.

The WHO wanted to ascertain whether the cough syrups allegedly linked to children’s deaths were exported to other countries.

The WHO noted that CDSCO informed that “Diethylene Glycol (DEG) had been detected in at least three oral syrup medicines. These medicines were among those consumed by children in the reported cluster of cases”.

The WHO said that the CDSCO had identified the three products as Coldrif from Sresan Pharma (Tamil Nadu) showing 48.6 per cent DEG; Respifresh TR from Rednex Pharmaceuticals (Gujarat) that showed 1.342 per cent DEG and ReLife from Shape Pharma (Gujarat) showing 0.616 per cent.

Expressing “condolences” to the affected families, the UN health agency offered “support to national authorities in investigating and responding to these tragic events.”

However, the WHO pointed out, it “has not received any official information as to the source of the DEG contamination or if contaminated pharmaceutical material has been identified.”

The UN health agency also expressed concern over “the potential risk of contaminated products being exported to other countries, particularly via unregulated channels”, and flagged the “regulatory gap in DEG/EG screening for domestically marketed medicines in India”.

The drug manufacturing unit in Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu) has been sealed. Several states, including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Arunachal Pradesh, have banned the sale of Coldrif cough syrups. Others, such as Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra have issued an alert.

Meanwhile, in an advisory issued to all states and Union Territories, the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Dr Sunita Sharma urged the rational use of cough syrups in the paediatric population.

“Cough and cold medications should not be prescribed or dispensed to children under 2 years.”

In specific cases, it should be used “following careful clinical evaluation with close supervision and strict adherence to appropriate dosing”.

--IANS

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