- By Priyanka Koul
- Thu, 16 Oct 2025 04:30 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Amid reports of child fatalities linked to toxic cough syrup in Madhya Pradesh, a government hospital in the state is now under scrutiny after a woman alleged that worms were found in a bottle of antibiotic medicine given to her child, officials reported on Thursday.
In response to the complaint, authorities sealed the entire stock of Azithromycin antibiotics at the government hospital in Morar, located in Gwalior district. Samples of the medicine have been sent to a laboratory in Bhopal for further testing, officials added.
Azithromycin oral suspension, a commonly prescribed antibiotic for children to treat various infections, was the medicine in question.
Officials noted that the drug was a generic version produced by a manufacturer based in Madhya Pradesh. Drug inspector Anubhuti Sharma stated, "A woman at the government hospital in Morar complained of worms in a bottle of Azithromycin oral suspension." Although the bottle of medicine that the woman had brought was open, the matter was immediately investigated, she said.
All 306 bottles of this medicine, which had been distributed and stored at the hospital in Morar, have been recalled and seized, the official said.
A preliminary inspection of some of the medicine bottles revealed no signs of insects, but testing is necessary, she said.
Some of the bottles have been sent to a laboratory in Bhopal for testing. A sample of this medicine will also be sent to the Central Drug Laboratory in Kolkata, Sharma said.
Notably, 24 children from Chhindwara district in MP have died due to suspected renal failure caused by the consumption of the adulterated Coldrif cough syrup.
The tragedy prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to issue an alert against three "substandard" oral cough syrups identified in India: Coldrif, Respifresh TR and ReLife.
( With PTI Inputs )