New Delhi: The Union Health Ministry will convene an emergency video conference at 4:00 pm today, chaired by Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, with Principal Secretaries, Health Secretaries and Drug Controllers from states and Union Territories. The meeting comes in the wake of at least 14 child deaths in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district allegedly linked to a contaminated cough syrup.

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Laboratory tests by Tamil Nadu’s Food and Drugs Administration revealed that the cough syrup Coldrif, manufactured by Sresan Pharmaceuticals in Tamil Nadu, contained 48.6% diethylene glycol (DEG) — a toxic industrial chemical used in antifreeze and brake fluids. When ingested, DEG can cause acute kidney failure and death.

The Madhya Pr

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