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The director of the Central Research Institute (CRI), Kasauli, which specialises in manufacturing anti-diphtheria serum (ADS), has said that 150 vials of the diphtheria antitoxin were kept ready since the last 15 days, but no one from Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Diseases Hospital came to collect them, despite intimation.
This comes at a time when 15 children have died at the hospital in Kingsway Camp over the last 17 days, with parents attributing the deaths to non-availability of ADS.
Speaking to The Sunday Express on Friday, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Sushil Kumar Gupta, had said, “We don’t have this serum since November last year. I have been in touch with the administration of CRI, which is the only agency that supplies this, but they have closed their lab because some upgradation is going on there. I even went to Kasauli in March, but they said they have stopped the production for now.”
However, CRI director Ajay Kumar Tahlan told The Sunday Express, “We had been getting requests for ADS from the hospital, so we managed to make 150 vials and informed the hospital administration 15 days ago. I have now got information that someone is coming today (Saturday) to collect it.”
Gupta did not respond to calls on Saturday.
Tahlan said the facility was being renovated for the last one-and-a-half years, so the supply was suspended, but with the work almost finished now, they managed to prepare 150 vials. “We will be offering 1,000 more over the next 15 days,” he said.
Adesh Gupta, the mayor of the North civic body, under whose jurisdiction the hospital falls, said, “I have formed a committee to investigate the lapses in this episode. Prima facie, it appears that there have been lapses by officials, and strict action will be taken. Why the ADS was not procured if it was available in Kasauli will also be clear once the report is out.”
Diphtheria is an infectious bacterial disease that affects the throat and upper airways, and also produces a toxin that affects other organs. According to the World Health Organisation, the disease can be fatal in 5-10% cases. While more than 330 children have been admitted and 48 have died of the disease this year, the last fortnight has seen a spike in deaths.
On Tuesday, a senior official in the Union Health Ministry had said: “The ministry is in touch with this hospital and is rushing the serum as an emergency measure. We have also written to the UP government to take preventive measures since most cases are from western UP.”
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