October 7, 2025

A scary story unfolds from Madhya Pradesh where 14 children died after taking contaminated cough syrup. But hold on, this isn’t a one-time tragedy. A deep dive into data shows that deaths due to medical mistakes or bad medicines have been happening regularly since 2023. The numbers tell a painful tale — 12 deaths in 2023, 6 in 2024, and already 23 in 2025! Causes vary from dirty drugs, wrong injections, to plain negligence. Kids Suffer Most BusinessLine’s analysis shines a spotlight on children facing the harshest hit from faulty medicines. Recently, 17 children lost their lives from syrup problems in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh alone. Going global, Indian-made cough syrups caused at least 141 child deaths in The Gambia, Uzbekistan, and Cameroon between 2022 and 2023. Why does this happen? Experts blame careless checking, delay in banning bad drug makers, and poor-quality medicines flowing especially through public health programs. System Trouble Beyond Syrup It is not just cough syrup causing crisis. Dirty saline in a Tamil Nadu dental clinic caused a deadly infection outbreak killing eight people. Wrong injections and too-high doses of anesthesia took lives in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka hospitals. Some action has been taken — clinics closed, licences halted, companies like ‘Kayson Pharma’ and ‘Sresan Pharmaceuticals’ blacklisted — but often too slow. For example, the Tamil Nadu clinic was shut only in June 2025, two years after the outbreak. Many 2024 and 2025 cases are still “under investigation.” Worse, even when one state bans a risky product, others sometimes ignore it. The Ringer’s lactate IV drip was banned in Karnataka but still used in West Bengal, causing a young mother’s death. Call for Urgent Reform The data reveals nearly 44% of those who die are children, and 17% women, mainly pregnant ladies who are extremely vulnerable. Small medical mistakes or dirty drugs turn simple treatments into deadly events. Most bad drugs come from semi-blacklisted manufacturers — showing a massive failure in drug control. The message is clear: India needs stricter drug rules, serious batch testing, and quick, open punishments for those responsible. Until then, these heart-breaking tragedies sadly will continue.

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Tags: Medical negligence, Child deaths, Contaminated cough syrup, India pharma, Drug safety, Regulation failure,