Toddler Dies After Taking Cough Syrup in Rajasthan: Third Suspected Case Prompts Investigation

Death certificate confirms Tirthraj's passing on September 27.

A two-year-old child has become the third suspected victim of poisoning from a cough syrup prescribed to children in Rajasthan.

Young Tirthraj from Bharatpur district was transferred to three different hospitals but unfortunately could not be saved.

Additional families have expressed concerns after their children consumed the same syrup, which contains dextromethorphan hydrobromide.

Tirthraj and his four-year-old brother Lalit visited a district hospital in Weir on September 23 morning with cold and cough symptoms.

The physician prescribed cough syrup to both siblings.

According to their father Nihal Singh, Tirthraj received the syrup at noon, after which the toddler fell asleep.

When Tirthraj didn't wake up for four hours, the concerned family returned to the same hospital, which then referred them to Zenana Hospital in Bharatpur.

Medical staff at Bharatpur examined the Weir hospital prescription and requested an image of the cough syrup Tirthraj had taken.

When the toddler showed no response to treatment, he was transferred to a Jaipur hospital on September 24.

Sadly, he passed away at the Jaipur facility three days later.

The doctor who treated Tirthraj in Weir explained to NDTV, "The patient came in on September 23 with bronchitis. I wrote a prescription for some injections. We nebulized the patient and also prescribed cough syrup. When the patient returned, he was drowsy, so we administered a drip and referred him to a larger hospital."

The physician emphasized that the cough syrup dosage given to Tirthraj was within the prescribed 1.5 ml limit.

"We've now dispatched medical teams to the patient's residence to investigate what exactly happened," the doctor added.

A cousin of Tirthraj was also prescribed the identical cough syrup, causing additional family concern.

Tirthraj's uncle Brijendra Singh stated that after seeing news reports and hearing about another death in Bharatpur, the family realized Brijendra's child had taken the same medication.

Although reports connect the child fatalities to the syrup, private medical practitioners in Rajasthan have noted that this medicine is commonly used and has been in circulation for approximately 20 years.

Dr. Sushil Sanghi, a senior pediatrician in Jaipur, told NDTV that after Corex and Codeine were prohibited, Dextromethorphan Hydrobromide has been widely utilized.

"However, it's not a medication that should be prescribed for young children, particularly those under two years of age. It's a compound commonly used in syrups as a cough suppressant to relieve persistent cough symptoms," Dr. Sanghi explained.

"Excessive doses can be fatal, leading to coma symptoms, as the drug affects the brain. But since this drug is widely used, the cause of these fatalities should be thoroughly investigated; perhaps the compound used in manufacturing the syrup could have been substandard," he further commented.

The Rajasthan government faces criticism over reports of the syrup poisoning children.

Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar stated that the government has submitted samples for laboratory testing.

"It's premature to declare the cough mixture poisonous without proper lab testing. The analysis will require three days, and we're conducting tests in multiple laboratories," Health Minister Singh stated.

"We have withdrawn the syrup from circulation, and we can only assign responsibility once we have conclusive evidence; we cannot do more than that at this stage," he concluded.