SHILLONG: State Health officials have seized 250 bottles of Coldbest-PC, a cough syrup said to be contaminated with a poisonous compound diethylene glycol, after the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recalled the drug from Meghalaya and seven other states following the death of nine children in Jammu & Kashmir.
Investigations into the deaths of the children revealed a common thread – each had taken Coldbest-PC cough syrup. Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the poisonous diethylene glycol in the drug that is produced by Digital Vision Pharmaceuticals based out of Himachal Pradesh.
Health Minister AL Hek on Thursday confirmed that the department seized 250 bottles of the particular cough syrup from different establishments of which two bottles broke.
He also said that following the directive of the Union Ministry, the department has asked all the CHC/PHCs to monitor the situation and ensure that the particular drug is not prescribed to any patient.
In addition to Meghalaya, the Union Health ministry had sent notices to officials in Himachal Pradesh
where the manufacturer is located), Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura and Tamil Nadu.
At present, Digital Vision’s manufacturing license has been withdrawn and over 5000 units of the syrup are being recalled from all the eight states it had been distributed to.
