NMC conducts urgent Monday audit; 12 suspected AES cases under treatment in city
A sharp-eyed Nagpur pediatrician has helped uncover what could be one of the country’s biggest drug contamination lapses — exposing a toxic cough syrup trail behind mysterious child deaths initially blamed on encephalitis.
At GMCH, Dr. Manish Tiwari noticed that the so-called AES patients weren’t showing typical neurological symptoms. “Their kidneys failed first, not their brains,” he said. “That pointed to poisoning — not a virus.”
His alert triggered a rapid chain of action. The Nagpur Municipal Corporation’s Medical Surveillance Unit reported the anomaly to NCDC on September 15, drawing in NIV and IDSP for investigation.
Nagpur currently has 12 suspected AES cases — 10 from Madhya Pradesh, one from Maharashtra, and one from Telangana — admitted across GMCH, AIIMS Nagpur, and four private hospitals.
On Monday, NMC’s health department launched an emergency medicine stock audit across Urban Primary Health Centres to trace batch number SR-13 (May 2025). Officials confirmed no contaminated product has been found yet but ordered pharmacy inspections and warned wholesalers to destroy any linked stock.
Tests later confirmed diethylene glycol (DEG) contamination in ‘Coldrif’ cough syrup made by Sresan Pharma, Tamil Nadu, now banned in two states. The Centre has launched nationwide inspections across 19 manufacturing units.
The Union Health Ministry has urged parents to avoid cough syrups for children under two, warning that many cold illnesses recover without medication.
One doctor’s refusal to accept the obvious may have just prevented a national tragedy.
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