Ludhiana, Oct. 10 -- Following the deaths of around 22 children in Madhya Pradesh after consuming contaminated cough syrup, the Ludhiana health department has launched precautionary testing of cough syrups sold locally to check for the presence of diethylene glycol, a harmful chemical that can cause kidney failure.

On Wednesday, health officials collected about 10 samples from various areas including Pindi Street, Dugri, Khanna and Jagraon, and on Thursday, three more samples were seized from a manufacturing unit in Ludhiana.

These samples will be sent to the government analytical lab in Kharar for testing, with results expected in about three weeks.

Dinesh Gupta, zonal licensing authority (ZLA) for drugs control, explained that polyet...