Rajasthan: Drug blamed for 2021 Delhi deaths claims life of 5-year-old; probe sought

JAIPUR: Rajasthan govt seems to have learnt no lessons from the 2021 Delhi episode when three children died after consuming a cough syrup containing dextromethorphan — the same drug now blamed for the death of a five-year-old in Sikar Monday, reports Intishab Ali.

After the Delhi deaths, Directorate General of Health Services had directed all clinics and hospitals in the capital not to give dextromethorphan-based medicines to children below four years. Though the order wasn’t national, activists say state health officials should have taken note.

In Rajasthan, however, the syrup was being prescribed to children under four at govt hospitals and centres under ‘free medicine’ scheme until it was paused after the Sikar death and reports of illness among kids in Sikar and Bharatpur.

Kaysons Pharma supplied the syrup in June as part of this year’s purchase order, officials said, adding it has already been distributed to 1.33 lakh patients. In Delhi, a different company had supplied the drug.

A health official admitted awareness of the Delhi incident but said other factors may be behind the Sikar fatality. “Samples have been sent for testing, and we are probing all aspects, including contamination,” he said. Rajasthan Medical Services Corporation has set up a three-member panel. But Jan Swasthya Abhiyan demanded an independent probe.