As Madhya Pradesh Grapples With Cough Syrup Deaths, Another Lapse Emerges

Even as Madhya Pradesh continues to grapple with the deaths of 23 children in the Chhindwara toxic cough syrup tragedy, another case of alleged negligence by the health department has come to light, this time involving lakhs of school and Anganwadi children, many of whom were administered substandard deworming tablets.

As part of the state's mega deworming campaign, Albendazole 400mg tablets were distributed to children across schools, Anganwadis, and other institutions on September 23 and 26. However, after they were given to children, laboratory tests revealed that a batch of the medicine, bearing the number B251362, had failed quality testing, indicating a lapse in the department's safety checks.

Following the test results, the Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) of Ashoknagar district issued an order on Monday, directing all subordinate offices not to distribute Albendazole tablets.

When NDTV tried to speak to the civil surgeon of Ashoknagar about how the failed batch of tablets reached children through a state-run campaign, he refused to appear on camera and then described the issue as "a routine procedure". Later, when an NDTV team visited the district's main medical store to verify how many of the tablets which failed quality testing had been received and where they were distributed, the storekeeper and other employees locked the premises and refused to respond to any queries.

Public health experts said the episode raises troubling questions about the functioning of the state's health department and the drug controller's oversight. "How did the department allow such tablets to reach lakhs of children without conducting basic sampling or verification before distribution? Why were the tablets tested only after the campaign was completed, and not before?" an expert asked

Officials said no child has shown any adverse reaction to the Albendazole tablets so far.

NDTV had also reported earlier about a Comptroller and Auditor General report revealing a crisis in the state's drug procurement and regulation.

The CAG's 2024-25 report revealed that the Madhya Pradesh Public Health Services Corporation Limited continued to purchase and distribute medicines which were banned by the Government of India for human use, putting public health at risk.

Between 2017 and 2022, the corporation entered into contracts worth Rs 1.5 crore with pharmaceutical companies for these banned drugs and purchases were also made at the district level, bringing the total value of such medicines bought to Rs 1.8 crore.