Overview

• Government officials said Tamil Nadu’s drugs laboratory found diethylene glycol above permissible limits in Coldrif batch SR-13 from Sresan Pharma’s Kanchipuram facility.
• The finding follows initial central and Madhya Pradesh tests that reported no diethylene or ethylene glycol in samples taken from Chhindwara, highlighting conflicting laboratory results.
• Authorities report at least 11 child deaths, with some accounts citing 12, mostly in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara and several in Rajasthan, after recent illnesses progressed to acute kidney failure.
• Madhya Pradesh has banned the sale of Coldrif statewide and Tamil Nadu has halted the product’s sale and ordered production stopped, as risk-based inspections of 19 sampled drugs across six states get underway.
• The national advisory urges no cough or cold medications for children under two and cautions against routine use below five, as a multidisciplinary team also probes infectious and environmental factors, including one confirmed leptospirosis case.