A five-month-old girl from Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district died within hours of being given an ayurvedic cough syrup, prompting authorities to seal the shop that sold the medicine and launch an investigation.
The child had been suffering from a cold and cough. Her family bought the syrup from a local medical store on October 27. According to officials, the baby’s condition deteriorated shortly after she was administered the syrup, and she stopped breathing early Thursday morning. She was rushed to the Bichua Community Health Centre, where doctors declared her brought dead.
District officials have sealed Kurethe Medical Store, from where the syrup was purchased, and seized the remaining stock. Samples of the product have been sent for laboratory analysis. The Chhindwara administration has also directed the Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) to conduct a detailed inquiry.
“We are awaiting the post-mortem report to confirm the cause of death,” CHMO Dr Naresh Gonne said, adding that a case will be examined under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, given the unregulated sale of ayurvedic formulations for infants.
The infant’s father, Sandeep Minote, alleged negligence on the part of both the chemist and the local health centre.
“We only gave her what the store recommended. Within hours, she stopped breathing,” he said.
The death comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the region’s pharmaceutical oversight following the Coldriff tragedy, in which at least 25 children in Betul and Chhindwara districts died after consuming contaminated cough syrup in September and October. Following that incident, chemists were instructed not to sell any cough syrups to children under one year without medical advice.
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Officials said strict action would be taken if the seized ayurvedic syrup is found to be unsafe or sold without regulatory approval. The post-mortem and forensic reports are awaited.
