ISLAMABAD: The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a global health alert over three contaminated cough syrups produced in India, after reports that several children under the age of five died in the country’s central Madhya Pradesh state.
According to Arab News, India’s health authority, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) said, the affected syrups — Coldrif by Sresan Pharmaceutical, Respifresh TR by Rednex Pharmaceuticals, and ReLife by Shape Pharma — were found to contain toxic diethylene glycol nearly 500 times above the permissible limit.
The contaminated medicines were reportedly consumed by children in Chhindwara district, leading to multiple fatalities.
The WHO said the tainted products pose “severe and potentially life-threatening” risks and urged countries to report any detection of these syrups to the agency.
Indian regulators said none of the contaminated batches had been exported, and there was no evidence of illegal shipments abroad. The US Food and Drug Administration also confirmed the products had not entered the American market.
