Madhya Pradesh Health Crisis Deepens: Substandard Deworming Tablets Administered to School Children After Cough Syrup Deaths

Officials have confirmed that no children have exhibited adverse reactions to the tablets thus far.

Bhopal:

While Madhya Pradesh continues to deal with the aftermath of 23 children's deaths in the Chhindwara toxic cough syrup incident, another case of alleged health department negligence has emerged. This new case involves thousands of school and Anganwadi children who were administered potentially substandard deworming medication.

Albendazole 400mg tablets were distributed to children in schools, Anganwadis, and other institutions on September 23 and 26 as part of the state's major deworming initiative. However, laboratory analysis later revealed that batch number B251362 of these tablets had failed quality testing, highlighting a significant oversight in the department's safety protocols.

In response to these test results, the Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) of Ashoknagar district issued a directive on Monday instructing all subordinate offices to cease distribution of Albendazole tablets immediately.

When NDTV attempted to interview the civil surgeon of Ashoknagar regarding how these substandard tablets were distributed through an official state campaign, he declined to appear on camera and dismissed the matter as "a routine procedure." Subsequently, when NDTV's team visited the district's central medical storage facility to investigate how many failed-quality tablets had been received and their distribution locations, staff locked the premises and refused to answer any questions.

Public health specialists have raised serious concerns about the functioning of the state's health department and drug regulatory oversight. One expert questioned, "How could the department allow such tablets to be distributed to thousands of children without performing basic quality verification before distribution? Why were tests conducted only after the campaign concluded, rather than beforehand?"

Health officials have stated that no children have displayed adverse reactions to the Albendazole tablets to date.

NDTV previously reported on a Comptroller and Auditor General assessment that exposed significant issues in the state's pharmaceutical procurement and regulation systems.

The CAG's 2024-25 report disclosed that the Madhya Pradesh Public Health Services Corporation Limited continued purchasing and distributing medicines banned for human use by the Government of India, thereby endangering public health.

Between 2017 and 2022, the corporation entered into agreements worth Rs 1.5 crore with pharmaceutical companies for these prohibited medications. Additional purchases were made at district levels, bringing the total value of such medicines to Rs 1.8 crore.