MP hospital recalls Azithromycin antibiotic bottles over alleged worms

Amid rising alarm over child fatalities linked to toxic cough syrup in Madhya Pradesh, a government hospital in Gwalior has come under scrutiny after a complaint surfaced about worms allegedly found in a bottle of antibiotic medicine given to a child, according to media reports on Thursday.

Reports indicated that after a woman raised concerns about the medicine, authorities sealed the entire stock of Azithromycin oral suspension at the government hospital in Morar and sent samples to a laboratory in Bhopal for analysis.

Azithromycin, a commonly used antibiotic for children’s infections, was said to be a generic formulation produced by a company based in Madhya Pradesh.

A drug inspector, Anubhuti Sharma, reportedly confirmed that a complaint had been filed regarding the presence of worms in an opened bottle of Azithromycin. She stated that an immediate inquiry was launched despite the bottle already being unsealed, TNIE reported.

Following the complaint, officials recalled and seized all 306 bottles of the same batch from the hospital. Preliminary checks did not reveal visible contamination, but comprehensive lab tests are being conducted to ensure the medicine’s safety. Samples have been dispatched to Bhopal and will also be examined by the Central Drug Laboratory in Kolkata.

The episode follows the recent deaths of 24 children in Chhindwara district, suspected to have suffered renal failure after consuming adulterated Coldrif cough syrup.

The incident had previously prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to issue a global alert against three substandard cough syrups—Coldrif, Respifresh TR, and ReLife—manufactured in India.