Doctor Arrested Over Deaths of 17 Children Prescribed Cough Medicine

Indian police have arrested the owner of a pharmaceutical company that makes cough syrup. It is linked to the deaths of 17 children in the country.

Ranganathan Govindan, who runs Tamil Nadu-based Sresan Pharmaceuticals, was arrested on the 8th of October. He was arrested by the Madhya Pradesh police in Chennai

Ranganathan is being sought by the Madhya Pradesh police after 17 children below the age of five died last month after receiving Coldref cough syrup.

Why did this syrup cause death?

India’s health ministry says Coldrif – an industrially toxic solvent – contains diethylene glycol (DEG) or ethylene glycol, which is another version of propylene glycol. These liquids appear identical to propylene glycol, which is safe to consume. But they are poisonous industrial chemicals used to make engine coolants, brake fluids, and antifreeze.

The cough syrup was banned on 2 Oct after tests confirmed the presence of the chemical. But they continue to be prescribed and dispensed in pharmacies.

However, a report by the Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department found that the cough syrup was manufactured in a rogue factory.

According to Indian media reports, preliminary investigations revealed that apart from Madhya Pradesh, the cough syrup was also supplied to Odisha and Puducherry.

Indian Local Authorities’s Action

On Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian said that the state’s government would take criminal action against Sresan Pharmaceuticals.

Besides, local authorities have stepped in to stem the flow of illicit drugs, testing random samples of cough syrup and issuing search warrants for Coldreff bottles.

“We have received 30-40 bottles. We have also received orders from wholesalers and retailers,” said Deputy Commissioner Harendra Narayan. He also added that 594 bottles of syrup have been sold to retailers in the area in the past six weeks.

By law, pharmaceutical companies in India are required to test every bottle of raw material and the final product.

What does WHO say?

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that there was a “regulatory gap” in India in the processing of over-the-counter drugs, according to news agency Reuters.

The WHO said it had received confirmation from India that none of the contaminated syrup had been released, Reuters reported.

However, the organization urged caution, as there was a possibility of unofficial exports, the news agency reported.

Two more Indian cough syrups contain toxins

Indian authorities have asked consumers to stop using two local syrups, Respifresh and RELIFE.

Those syrups are manufactured by Shape Pharma and Rednex Pharmaceuticals in Gujarat. They discovered a similar toxic chemical in these two syrups.

Known as the “pharmacy of the world,” India is the third-largest producer of drugs after the United States and China.

The country supplies 40% of the drugs used in the United States and more than 90% of all drugs in many African countries.

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Police in India have arrested a doctor accused of manslaughter after prescribing a cough syrup that has been linked to the deaths of at least 14 children. Police say Dr Praveen Soni prescribed the medicine called Coldrif Syrup to the children, who were mostly under the age of five. #India #news

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