The children who were admitted to Hyderabad’s Niloufer Hospital after being given the wrong medicine following vaccinations at Nampally Urban Health Centre, have almost all made a full recovery. According to hospital sources, of the 32 babies who were admitted, only 4 remain in the hospital after most were discharged on Sunday and Monday.
“All the children recovered well. Even the ones on the ventilator support, most were discharged yesterday (Sunday) and today, only four of them remain in the hospital and they too should be able to leave in another day or two,” stated a hospital source.
A team of investigating officials from the Health Department have been given the task of putting together a report which takes account of all the lapses which led to such a tragic incident. While an official report has yet to be released, a preliminary report allegedly states that the medical officer was not trained in routine immunization. Furthermore, it was reported that there was no proper management of the drugs given by the centre, with the logbook utilised to maintain a record of the drugs being outdated.
On March 7, 32 children below the age of one were admitted to Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad after they were given opioid tramadol, instead of paracetamol tablets following vaccination. One child died prior to being brought to the hospital, one died during the course of treatment and 4 were placed on ventilator support following the incident. Tramadol is a painkiller given to adults and in young children can have severe effects ranging from drowsiness, coma, and even death.
Following the mix-up of medications, several pharmacies and medical shops began taking tramadol off the shelves. In addition, Telangana State Medical Services & Infrastructure Development Corporation has been asked to change the packaging of the tablets before April 8.
After the incident, the state Health Minister Etela Rajender has also announced that all vaccination drives held in the state henceforth will be conducted under the supervision of qualified doctors only.
This announcement by the Health Minister came ahead of the nationwide pulse polio campaign which began on March 9.