Cough syrup deaths: Coldrif, Respifresh TR and ReLife — all about the medicines declared toxic by India
Coldrif has been linked to the deaths of all 22 kids in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara. They died of kidney failure, mostly in a government hospital in another state. All the bottles were manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, based in Tamil Nadu.
Cough syrup deaths: India has declared three cough syrups toxic after at least 22 children died of kidney failure due to their consumption over the past month.
These children from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh died due to suspected kidney failure, which is linked to the consumption of 'toxic' Coldrif cough syrup, as per officials.
While all the deaths were related to Coldrif, regulators have also asked consumers to avoid having two other cough syrups called Respifresh TR and ReLife.
Here are the details of the cough syrups that have been declared toxic.
Coldrif
Coldrif has been linked to the deaths of all 22 kids in Chhindwara. They died of kidney failure, mostly in a government hospital in another state. All the bottles were manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceutical Manufacturer, based in Tamil Nadu.
The licence of the company has now been revoked, and the owner has been arrested for the cough syrup deaths.
After lab tests, it was found that the cough syrups in question were contaminated with 48.6% of toxin diethylene glycol (DEG), far more than the limit of 0.1% set by India and WHO.
Respifresh TR
Made by Rednex Pharmaceuticals in Gujarat, Respifresh has not yet been linked to any of the deaths.
However, it has been found that this cough syrup contains 1.342% DEG, with bottles manufactured in January 2025 and set to expire in December 2026.
The Centre has ordered the company to stop production of all medical products. The syrup has also been recalled.
ReLife
ReLife has been made by Shape Pharma, based in Gujarat, in January 2025 and was set to expire in December 2026.
Regulators in samples of the bottles have found 0.616% DEG contamination, followed by a recall of the product from retail markets. The company has also been asked to stop production of all medical products.
22 children die in MP
Two more children from Madhya Pradesh have succumbed to kidney infections caused by the consumption of the "contaminated" cough syrup, taking the death toll to 22, an official said on Thursday.
Five-year-old Vishal died on Wednesday evening and Mayank Suryavanshi, aged 4, succumbed late at night while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Nagpur in neighbouring Maharashtra, Chhindwara's Additional Collector Dhirendra Singh Netri said.
The two children hailed from Parasia town in Chhindwara, he said.
The Madhya Pradesh Police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the deaths and filed a case against the Tamil Nadu-based manufacturer of Coldrif.