A seven-year-old girl died and 53 others fell ill after being administered chloroquine tablets during a malaria prevention programme at Gollaguppa village in Yetapaka mandal of Andhra Pradesh’s Polavaram district on Tuesday, officials said.
According to Polavaram district collector K Dinesh Kumar, the incident occurred after health officials conducted a fever surveillance and medical camp in the village, where a high number of malaria cases were reportedly detected.
“As part of the programme, chloroquine tablets were distributed to villagers in accordance with the prescribed dosage based on age. Some schoolchildren were also administered the tablets at their schools,” he said.
A seven-year-old student reportedly took three tablets, the official said. After returning home on Tuesday evening, she vomited and subsequently became unconscious.
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She was initially taken to the Lakshmipuram hospital and later shifted to Bhadrachalam Hospital for better treatment. “However, doctors declared her dead by the time she reached the hospital,” Kumar said.
{{/usCountry}}She was initially taken to the Lakshmipuram hospital and later shifted to Bhadrachalam Hospital for better treatment. “However, doctors declared her dead by the time she reached the hospital,” Kumar said.
{{/usCountry}}According to the collector, preliminary medical assessment suggested that the seven-year-old girl may have had an underlying hereditary or familial cardiac condition. “Doctors suspected that chloroquine could have triggered cardiac arrhythmia in a person with such a pre-existing condition, although a definitive clinical conclusion is still awaited,” he said.
The collector also informed state health minister Y Satya Kumar about the girl’s family medical history. According to the preliminary information gathered by doctors, two other children from her family, both below one year of age, died earlier from unidentified causes. This led doctors to examine the possibility of a genetic cardiac disorder in the family.
Her medical examination and post-mortem procedures are under way, and the exact cause of death will be established after the reports are received, officials said.
The collector maintained that the chloroquine tablets were administered strictly according to the age-specific dosage prescribed under the health department’s malaria-control protocol. He also said quality-control tests conducted on the medicines produced satisfactory results.
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“To establish whether there was any issue with the particular medicine used during the camp, the batch of chloroquine tablets has been sent to the Visakhapatnam forensic laboratory for further testing,” he said.
Health officials said some of the patients developed vomiting after taking the tablets. Doctors told the collector that vomiting was a known and relatively common side effect of the medicine, and the symptoms in most patients were not indicative of a serious reaction.
Kumar said in all, 54 people from Gollaguppa village were brought to Bhadrachalam Hospital after they developed complications. “Of them, 53 were undergoing treatment, while another 17 people in the village were being monitored through a special medical camp,” he said.
The collector said the 53 patients included 48 children and five adults. All were in a stable condition, he said, adding most of those who recovered were expected to be discharged later on Wednesday.
“Those who tested positive for malaria would be kept under medical observation for another 24 hours,” he said.
Three specialised Rapid Response medical teams from Kakinada, Rajamahendravaram and Vijayawada reached Bhadrachalam to assist with the treatment and monitoring of the affected people. The teams comprise assistant professors, postgraduate doctors, general physicians and other medical specialists.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu reviewed the incident with senior officials on Tuesday night and directed them to take all necessary medical and relief measures. Following his instructions, health department officials have been closely monitoring the situation.
The collector visited Bhadrachalam Hospital on Wednesday and reviewed the treatment provided and discussed their health condition with the doctors.
He said the government was preparing a comprehensive health profile of around 270 residents of Gollaguppa. Medical teams are conducting blood tests and screening residents for conditions such as sickle-cell anaemia, other health disorders and co-morbidities.
Officials are also continuing medical surveillance in the village to identify any further cases or health complications.
The Andhra Pradesh government also arranged food for the affected patients and their attendants at the hospital. The collector appealed to residents not to panic, assuring them that the government was closely monitoring the situation.
Officials from the health department, Chintur project officer, sub-collector Shubham Nokwal, district medical and health officer Dr P Saritha, members of the special medical teams and other medical personnel were involved in the relief and monitoring operations.