Health Ministry holds high-level meet with states over cough syrup deaths

The Union Health Ministry is conducting a meeting with health secretaries and drug controllers from all states regarding deaths linked to a contaminated cough syrup named 'Cold Rift'. The meeting aims to monitor drug quality and establish directives for the rational prescription of cough syrups. An investigation is underway into the manufacturer, Shishan Pharmaceuticals, and a doctor who prescribed the syrup in Chhindwara has been arrested. There is concern that "medicine that is supposed to keep you healthy is now taking lives." The probe will also examine potential deliberate oversights and whether medical representatives were involved in any wrongdoing, as more deaths continue to be reported from locations like Betul in Madhya Pradesh.