India, Sept. 30 -- Six children have died of kidney failure over the past month in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district due to the alleged use of contaminated cough syrup, district officials said on Tuesday.

Chhindwara district collector Sheelendra Singh on Tuesday prohibited chemists from selling two cough syrups after tests indicated that they were allegedly contaminated and may have led to kidney failure in the children.

"The cough syrup administered to the children was allegedly contaminated with diethylene glycol," Singh said, adding that the deaths were linked to kidney failure.

Diethylene glycol (DEG) is an industrial solvent used in the making of paints, ink and brake fluids. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, DEG...