Chhindwara: Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla on Wednesday denied contamination of cough syrup in the mysterious deaths of six children in Chhindwara district of the state, saying that the preliminary investigation has not confirmed any contamination.
He further claimed that the State Health Department is handling the status very seriously and the situation is under control.
Shukla said, “Samples of medicines given to children have been sent to a laboratory in Nagpur. Initial investigation found no contamination in the syrup. The final report is likely to come by Wednesday evening,” Shukla said, which is also leading the state’s health and family welfare department.
The Deputy Chief Minister also claimed that he had spoken to the Health Commissioner, and a two-member team of the Health Department has also been sent to Chhindwara to conduct a detailed investigation into the matter.
“Officers are interviewing families, collecting drug samples, and conducting door-to-door survey to identify other affected children,” he said.
Earlier, children suffering from a regular wave of cough and a seasonal fever were admitted to a hospital, where they allegedly died of kidney failure. However, it was suspected that the deaths occurred due to the syrup of contaminated cough, which are caused by death with toxic diathylene glycol.
Allegedly, six children under the age of five complained of cold and mild fever for the first time. Local doctors prescribed regular medicines including cough syrup, after which the children started recovering.
But within days, the symptoms came back, followed by a sudden and dangerous decrease in the production of urine. The condition quickly deteriorated in kidney infection.
The children were admitted to Chhindwara District Hospital. When his condition deteriorated, he was taken to Nagpur (Maharashtra) for advanced treatment. Three children died there, while the other three died in Chhindwara last week.
Meanwhile, Chhindwara Collector Shilendra Singh ordered a ban on the sale of two syrup across the district and issued an immediate advice for doctors, pharmacies and parents.
Singh further said that complications have come out because sudden kidney failure in so many children is somewhat more dangerous. He also informed that the ICMR team has already sent samples of blood and medicine to the virology institute in Pune for further analysis.
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