Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government on Saturday officially banned the sale of Coldrif cough syrup across the state after the deaths of nine children were reported in Parasia Tehsil of Chhindwara district, allegedly due to kidney-related complications caused by contaminated cough syrup.

The decision follows a test report confirming high levels of diethylene glycol — a toxic compound — in the syrup.

“The concentration of diethylene glycol was found to be over 48% compared to the permissible limit of just 0.1% in Coldrif. The concentration is extremely dangerous,” drug controller D.K. Maurya said.

“So far, the syrup appears to have been supplied only in the Chhindwara area. It has not been found in other districts. But we have alerted all the drug inspectors to monitor its presence,” Maurya said, adding that the report of Nexa DS, another suspect syrup, is still awaited.

Also read: Six MP children die due to kidney failure linked to contaminated cough syrup

This comes a day after the Tamil Nadu government banned the sale of the cough syrup ‘Coldrif’ effective October 1 and ordered its removal from the market following suspicions linking it to the deaths of 11 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday announced the ban on X, “The deaths of children in Chhindwara due to Coldrif syrup are extremely tragic. The sale of this syrup has been banned throughout Madhya Pradesh. The sale of other products of the company that manufactured the syrup is also being banned.”

“The syrup manufacturing factory is located in Kanchipuram, so after learning of the incident, the state government [had] asked the Tamil Nadu government to investigate. The investigation report was received this morning. Strict action has been taken based on the report,” CM Yadav said.

Also read: Centre rushes experts to look into Madhya Pradesh deaths linked to cough syrup

On taking action in the matter, the CM said, “Following the tragic deaths of the children, action was underway at the local level. A team has also been formed to investigate this matter at the state level. The culprits will not be spared at any cost.”

In 2023, the Director General of Health Services sent a letter to all states stating that this formula should not be given to children under the age of four. Despite this, doctors in Chhindwara prescribed this medication. Of the nine children who died, seven were four years old or younger, while two others were only five years old.