BHOPAL: Children under five in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district are continuing to die of acute kidney failure after being prescribed a combination of medicines, including two common cough syrups, by local doctors.
With three more deaths over the last few days, the death toll has increased from six to nine, while at least three other kids under treatment at a hospital in neighbouring Nagpur (Maharashtra) are battling for life with dialysis and ventilator support.
“Since September 4, nine kids, including Shivam Rathore, Vidhi, Adnan, Usaid, Rishika, Hitansh, Chanchlesh, Vikas and Sandhya, have died. 13 other kids have been under treatment in hospitals in Chhindwara and Nagpur,” sub-divisional magistrate (SDM-Parasia) Shubham Kumar Yadav said on Friday.
“Out of the five kids who were admitted at the Chhindwara District Hospital, one has been discharged after full recovery, while two others are on the path of recovery. The two remaining kids are still under intensive treatment. In Nagpur, out of the eight hospitalised kids, the condition of three kids remains highly critical, as they are currently on dialysis and ventilator support,” the SDM said.
He added that, according to biopsy reports of the children who died in Nagpur hospitals, “Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), and not Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES), appears to have caused their deaths.”
Detailed tests of water and other samples from the areas where the children lived, conducted by premier institutions including the National Institute of Virology (NIV-Pune), ruled out contaminated water, vector-borne diseases, or rats as causes of the health issues. Analysis of the children’s medical histories showed that the cough syrups were common across cases.
"A report from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2022, showed that some chemical toxicity of cough syrups manufactured in India had caused similar fatalities in Gambia. With a similar pattern emerging here also, an advisory was issued to restrain the use and prescription of the two concerned cough syrups in the entire Chhindwara district,” Yadav maintained.
Echoing similar concerns, Dr Pawan Nandurkar, the paediatrician at the Chhindwara District Hospital, said, “The biopsy reports of the kids who died during treatment at hospitals in Nagpur, have revealed that there has been some toxin-mediated injury to the kidneys. Analysis of the medical history of patients (including the kids who died) reveals that in 80% cases, the cough syrup Coldrif was administered to the kids. Old pharmacological researches suggest the possibility of such a cough syrup with a chemical Diethylene Glycol (DEG) or Ethylene Glycol (EG),".
Suspecting chemical contamination in the cough syrup and its possible link to kidney damage, causing the deaths, the district administration issued an advisory banning the use, sale, and prescription of such cold cough syrups.
Doctors have been advised to avoid prescribing combination medicines, use injections cautiously due to potential kidney impact, and conduct kidney function tests immediately if any child shows signs of urinary problems.
“Approximately 15-16 kids were referred to hospitals in Nagpur over the last few days, out of which six died. Three to four are stated critical there, while a new patient has been sent there today,” Dr Nandurkar said.
Meanwhile, the state’s Deputy Chief Minister and Health Minister, Dr Rajendra Shukla, who had recently stated that cough syrups were not linked to the children’s deaths, spoke to the media on the issue again on Friday.
“Samples of 12 medicines have been sent for testing, out of which reports of three medicines don’t suggest anything in them which could’ve caused the deaths of the kids. The reports of the remaining nine medicines will be with us by tonight, before which it cannot be concluded what actually caused the death. No banned syrup can be sold in the market, but sometimes some batches of any medicine could cause problems, but before the test reports don’t come to us, nothing can be said.”
Meanwhile, as per reports from Chhindwara district, most of the kids (who died) were administered preliminary treatment in Parasia area (coal belt) of Chhindwara by a common medical practitioner, Ravindra Soni (a government doctor posted at Parasia Community Health Centre who also runs a private clinic).
“Soni doctor (Ravindra Soni) prescribed the medicines, including cough syrups, to our children and also administered injections to them. But instead of improving, their condition worsened, ultimately compelling us to rush them to Nagpur, where they died later,” parents of deceased Adnan, Usaid and Vikas told journalists in Chhindwara on Friday.
