058. Open Letter To WHO On Pentavalent Vaccine Related Deaths In India

Open letter To WHO On Pentavalent Vaccine-Related Deaths In India

Pentavalent vaccine was introduced in two states of India last year by the World Health Organization (WHO). Several alleged deaths occurring due to the vaccine, prompted the All India Drug Action Network to write to WHO asking for a re-evaluation of the introduction of the vaccine.

By All-India Drug Action Network

To: 

Dr. Margaret Chan,
The Director General,
World Health Organization, 

Geneva

Dear Dr Margaret Chan,

All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN) is a network of not-for-profit civil society organizations that has been campaigning and working for rational use of medicines, largely in the Indian context. We have written to you in the past. We would like to bring your attention to the Pentavalent (DPT + Hib + Hepatitis B) vaccine related deaths in India.

According to the Brighton classification of ‘Adverse Events Following Immunization’ (AEFI), re-challenge and recurrence of symptoms in the individual is needed for classification of AEFI as ‘certainly related to vaccine’. Such re-challenge is impossible if in the first instance, AEFI results in death. In the absence of proof from a re-challenge experiment, deaths caused by vaccines can only be classified as ‘probably related to vaccine or possibly related’ to the immunization.

As you would know, there have been several Pentavalent vaccine related deaths in Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Pakistan. Using the WHO approved classification of AEFI many of these deaths are ‘probably related to the immunization’ because no alternate cause for the adverse events has been found. However an expert panel looking at the deaths in Sri Lanka deleted ‘probably related’ and ‘possibly related’ from the classification of Brighton for purposes of their evaluation report, and then certified that the vaccines were ‘unlikely to be due to the vaccines’. This report (Expert Panel Report 23 December 2008 Sri Lanka) is available on the World Wide Web.

One by one the WHO has de-listed a number of brands of pre-qualified Pentavalent vaccine, but the problem has refused to go away. Pentavalent vaccine was introduced in two states in India on 14th December and 17th December 2011, to evaluate the safety of the vaccine in India.

According to an affidavit filed in the Kerala High Court by the Government of Kerala India, there have been four deaths in less than two months since it was introduced in the public health system. For your information the full text of the submission by Kerala government can be accessed here.

The reactions in India suggest that the cause of the problem is unrelated to the brand or manufacturer or lot of the vaccine. It appears to be a form of ‘hypersensitivity reaction’ as described in the post mortem report on one of the children in Kerala.

The vaccine can be administered to many patients without problems and there is no available method at present to predict which infant will react adversely.

The US FDA has pointed out that vaccines are aimed mostly at healthy individuals for prevention of diseases to which an individual may never be exposed. Unlike conventional drug treatments meant for the management of existing disease, in prophylaxis with vaccines, safety is of paramount importance. Vaccines that frequently and unpredictably cause death of healthy children cannot be recommended.

Pentavalent vaccine is at present recommended by WHO and its introduction is supported by Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) funds. Given these circumstances the WHO needs to re-evaluate the recommendations. We propose to copy this letter to countries supporting the GAVI initiative so that they may be able to initiate action in a responsible manner.

Looking forward to your early action in the regard.


1. Dr Jacob Puliyel, Drug Action Forum– Karnataka (DAF-K), New Delhi

2. Dr Mira Shiva, Medico Friend Circle, New Delhi

3. Dr Gopal Dabade, DAF-K, Dharwad

4. Mr Srinivasan. S, LOCOST, Vadodara

5. Mr Naveen Thomas, Headstreams, Bangalore

6. Mr Prasanna Saligram, AID India, Bangalore

7. Dr Anurag Bhargava, JSS, Chattisagarh

March 12, 2012.


Republished here on public interest by courtesy of All-India Drug Action Network

Links:

Pentavalent Vaccines Promoted by WHO Despite Deaths of Healthy Children – Part I, Asia

http://www.dadychery.org/2012/05/01/pentavalent-vaccines-promoted-by-who-despite-deaths/

Tags:

Kerala Health News, Health Research Online, Public Health Kerala, Health News, Kerala Health Service, India Health, Health Department, pentavalent vaccines, Antigen, Paediatric disease, Infant death,

057. Kerala’s Everyday Drink Of Vaccine Cocktails

Kerala’s Everyday Drink Of Vaccine Cocktails

India serves up costly cocktail of vaccines

By Ranjit Devraj

Source: Inter Press Service News Agency,
New Delhi, India.
Saturday, November 9, 2013.

Ignoring widespread concern over the safety, efficacy and cost of pentavalent vaccines, India’s central health ministry has, this month, approved inclusion of the prophylactic cocktail in the universal immunization programme in seven of its provinces.

Pentavalent vaccine doses, a cocktail of five antigens in a single shot, confers immunity against five paediatric diseases – diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type b (Hib), with the last one considered particularly problematic by some experts.

Pentavalents, produced by several manufacturers and promoted by the Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), has had a history of causing adverse reactions and deaths in India’s neighbouring countries like Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

In 2010, the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), a body of experts selected by the Indian government, recommended limited introduction of pentavalents in southern Kerala and Tamil Nadu and evaluation of results over a year before extension to other states.

Pentavalents were launched in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in December 2011, but the results were not encouraging. Kerala recorded four infant deaths following vaccination, with symptoms similar to what were seen in other South Asian countries.

Public health activists in Kerala, a state with 100 percent literacy and human development indices similar to those of advanced Western countries, quickly filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Kerala High Court asking for intervention in having the programme called off and a return to the existing health plan.

But despite infant deaths and two pending PILs (with yet another being heard in the Delhi High Court) against pentavalents, the health ministry announced on Apr. 16 that pentavalents would be introduced in five more states – Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry in October.

In making the decision, the government overlooked the NTAGI, which has not even been convened since August 2010 when the body suggested limited introduction to Kerala and Tamil Nadu as the two states have good adverse event following immunization systems.

“Going by what we have seen in the neighbouring countries and now in the state of Kerala, pentavalents can, without warning, cause children (to suffer) hypersensitivity reactions and death,”

Jacob Puliyel, an eminent paediatrician at St. Stephen’s hospital in New Delhi and member of the NTAGI, told IPS. Puliyel likened the situation to penicillin sensitivity and said it bordered on criminality to be administering pentavalents without first testing a child for hypersensitivity. “Every child that is being given a dose of pentavalent vaccine is a potential victim of the adverse reaction,” he said.

Puliyel was among the many eminent physicians and public health activists in India who wrote to World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Margaret Chan on Apr. 3 asking the health body to “re-evaluate” its recommendation of pentavalent vaccines on the grounds of safety.

Another signatory, Dr Meera Shiva, an expert on pharmaceutical drugs attached to the voluntary Medico Friends Circle, told IPS that WHO had to de-list a number of brands of ‘pre-qualified’ pentavalent vaccine, “but adverse reactions persist and we have surely not heard the last of them.”

The letter to Chan, written under the aegis of the All-India Drug Action Network, an umbrella of public health activist groups, suggested that the cause of the vaccination- related deaths was likely to be “hypersensitivity reaction as described in the post mortem report on one of the children (who died) in Kerala.”

“Unlike conventional drug treatments meant for the management of existing diseases, in prophylaxis with vaccines, safety is of paramount importance. Vaccines that frequently and unpredictably cause the death of healthy children cannot be recommended,” the letter to Chan said.

Policy analysts specializing in vaccines said they were dismayed at the move to approve pentavalents in as many as seven of India’s states, which account for 340 million of India’s 1.2 billion people.

“Pentavalents are a test case for India’s new policy on vaccines that is in keeping with liberalization and openly favours pharmaceutical majors at the cost of India’s public sector vaccine units,” said Madhavi Yennapu, a scientist who specializes in vaccines at the central government’s National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies.

Twenty of India’s 23 public sector vaccination units, once the mainstay of the country’s immunization programme, have been shut down one after another over the last four years on the grounds that the quality of their products was suspect.

Yennapu pointed to the draft National Vaccination Policy, released last year, for clues on why the government has not made any serious attempt to revive the vaccine- manufacturing units by enforcing quality standards, for instance.

The new policy demands that the “risk of manufacturing vaccines by private manufacturers must be cushioned by assistance from (the) government” and suggests that it be made mandatory for the government to support vaccine producers with advance market commitments (AMCs).

Madhavi explained that AMCs provide guaranteed markets for a vaccine even before trials are conducted, with the government committed to paying a supporting minimum price.

“Even if the vaccine turns out to be less efficacious than the existing one the government must honour the AMC by buying the new vaccine at the agreed price.

“This means that AMC funds must be deposited with the World Bank ahead of vaccine delivery by countries that GAVI is supposed to be helping with the introduction of new vaccines,”

Madhavi told IPS:

“Naturally, GAVI would be looking at large countries like India, Brazil and China to provide the AMCs.” For a country like India, what is important is to “see how many vaccines are needed to prevent how many deaths and at what cost, rather than throw out tried and tested vaccines in favour of a cocktail (pentavalent) which not only has doubtful advantages but has been shown to cause adverse reactions,” Madhavi said. According to Madhavi, there is no hard scientific evidence to show that India needs the Hib vaccine .“It is clearly piggybacking on other vaccines and the public made to pay for it.” The existing diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (DPT) vaccine costs about 30 cents for all the doses needed to immunize a child, while immunization with pentavalents will cost more than 10 dollars. “We need to ask ourselves if introducing the new vaccine is really worth all the public money being spent on it,” Madhavi said.

Republished here on public interest by courtesy of Inter Press Services

Source: INTER PRESS SERVICE News Agency
Saturday, November 9, 2013

Tags: Kerala Health News, Health Research Online, Public Health Kerala, Health News, Kerala Health Service, India Health, Health Department, pentavalent vaccines, Antigen, Paediatric disease, Infant death,

056. Kerala Health Department Severely Accused By CAG On Account Of Sickle Cell Anaemia

Kerala Health Department Severely Accused By CAG On Account Of Sickle Cell Anaemia

Comptroller and Auditor General of India raps Kerala health department

Sickle Cell Anaemia is an inherited disease characterized by red blood cells that assuming a sickle shape making normal life difficult in later stages of the sickness

Press Trust Of India, Thiruvananthapuram
June 22, 2014

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has expressed concern over the failure of the public health system in Kerala to tackle the prevalence of sickle cell anaemia among the tribal population in Wayanad, home to nearly 31 per cent of Adivasi communities in the state.

According to a recent CAG report, out of the 85 per cent of tribal population screened by health authorities in the district, a total of 706 persons were found to be affected with the disease while 6,992 showed its traits.

Quoting a survey by the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) from 2007-08 to 2012-13, it said as many as 312 of those suffering from the "life-long inherited disease" were in the age group of 18-40 and 262 in the school-going age of 5-17.

Sickle Cell Anaemia is an inherited disease characterized by red blood cells that assuming a sickle shape making normal life difficult in later stages of the sickness.

The NRHM had recommended grant of incentives to the school going students to continue their studies and for preferential treatment and temporary and contract jobs to those patients in the age group of 18-40, it said. However, the government and district administration did not initiate steps to implement this, the report said. The report also found fault with the state health department for not completing the disease screening to cover the entire tribal population in the region.

"No special efforts have been made by the Health Department to extend help to the identified patients to lead a normal life," it added.

Republished here on public interest by courtesy of Business Standard Dot Com

Link: http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/cag-raps-kerala-health-department-114062200709_1.html

Tags: Kerala Health News, Health Research Online, Public Health Kerala, Health News, Kerala Health Service, India Health, Health Department, Sickle Cell Anaemia, CAG, NRHM, Adivasi, Wayanad, Tribal

049. Kerala Govt. Abandons Plans To Set Up Drug Manufacturing Units, To Please Bosses.

Kerala Govt. Abandons Plans To Set Up Drug Manufacturing Units, To Please Bosses.

By Special Correspondent

The Kerala Government had announced its desire, not decision, to enter the field of pharmaceutical manufacturing in the year 2012. Even after billions of rupees having flown into the coffers of multi national medicine manufacturing companies, the government has not cared to make common man’s dream come true. It is like the politicians in government, and their bureaucratic counterparts as well, do not like medicine manufacturing units to come up in the public sector, and the large corporates who contribute handsomely to their election funds and their children’s educational funds loose their huge sales in Kerala. Their loyalty is to large pharmaceutical companies, not to people or government. And they could not or did ever care to persuade these companies to stop extracting unrealistically high prices for life-saving drugs or refrain from withdrawing low-priced good drugs from the market. 

Even in 2013, the Government of Kerala was said to have been giving serious consideration to proposals for setting up drug manufacturing plants in the state, as was revealed in the health minister’s speech in the Emerging Kerala Global Connect Meet 2012, which in itself was an utter farce. Multi-faceted and many dimensional growth was assured in Kerala’s health sector by many participants but when they learned that it is not easy to cheat and lure the highly politicized people of Kerala as they do in states likes Bihar, these aspiring entrepreneurs suddenly vanished. Government’s declaration to set up state-owned drug manufacturing units today seems like a threat sent to large medicine manufacturers: ‘We are going to start; come up and pay’- which was it. If not, why did they defeat in every way the two dependable medicine manufacturing plants already functioning in Kerala, owned by the very government? 

The Pharmaceutical Corporation of Kerala Ltd for Indigenous Medicine, marketing medicines under the brand name of Oushadhi, was started even before India gained independence from the British. Started in 1941 as Sree Kerala Varma Ayurveda Pharmacy by the Maharaja of Cochin, it became a registered co-operative society in 1959 and then in 1975 was registered under the Indian Companies Act and renamed as The Pharmaceutical Corporation (Indian Medicines) Kerala Ltd, Thrissur. It has modern manufacturing units, regional distribution units, a full-fledged Research and Development Centre and a wide distribution network. It hands over crores of rupees to government each year as dividend. But, when the question of procuring medicines for government came, they were pushed back far, to stand behind large private companies. Politicians and bureaucrats in government are suffocating this company on the hope that it would vanish for ever and clear the field for favourite private companies.

The Kerala State Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a Public Sector Undertaking fully owned by the Government of Kerala, ‘has been manufacturing and supplying essential and life saving allopathic medicines to cater to the need of the common patients resorting to Government Hospitals in the State of Kerala’ since 1974. It is self-revealing to analyze how much they are favoured while procuring medicines for the state-owned Kerala State Medical Service Corporation. When the government directly purchased medicine from manufacturers in the past, this public sector unit still had a hope. When government established this particular corporation for procurement of medicine for government, good public sector companies lost all hope. This corporation with its undemocratic bureaucratic haughtiness has been favouring only private companies and has been behaving so from the first. When government directly purchased medicine, there indeed had been corruption by purchasing committees and directors of health services had been charge-sheeted with corruption, but corruption had been comparatively lower and transparency higher when compared with this corporation. It is not illogical to doubt if this corporation was set up to monopolize corruption in drug purchasing in Kerala.

The original news, announcing Kerala government’s decision to enter drug manufacturing field is here, as reported by Pharma Biz.

Kerala Govt. Planning To Set Up Drug Mfg. Units In Public Sector.

By Pharma Biz

Joseph Alexander, New Delhi
Thursday, October 25, 2012

Kerala, which is heavily dependent on other States for medicines, is weighing the options to set up manufacturing plants in the public sector on the lines of the central public sector pharmaceutical manufacturing units to make drugs affordable and accessible.

Kerala which accounts for more than 10 per cent of the national consumption of medicines has only a few manufacturing units to cater to the demand. Out of the 10,000 licensed manufacturing units in the country, the State may have only a few dozens of units, making it almost fully dependent on the other States, a senior official of the State Health Department told Pharma Biz.

“The Government is considering a proposal for setting up drug manufacturing plants in the public sector to make drugs affordable. Detailed modalities were being worked out and feasibility studies were being done. The working and profitability of the central public sector manufacturing units were also being examined to work out a model for the State,” he said.

The State also is weighing options like going for public-private partnership model. The objective is to make available quality healthcare to all at affordable costs, he said, adding that the State has already taken a number of initiatives to bring down the prices of medicines.

“We have a better distribution system with State-run stores to make affordable the drugs. However, the main problem now is the supply side and many were advocating the entry of the government to produce the medicines,” he said.

Referring to the Clinical Establishment Act which was already implemented by many States following the passage of the Bill by the Union Government, he said the State has initiated steps to formulate laws and adopt the same in the State with a view to improving the quality of care to patients by regulating hospitals and laboratories.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=71823&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz Dot Com

041. Prevent Dengue With These 10 Practical Tips.

Prevent Dengue With These 10 Practical Tips.

By Health India. Com

Pavitra Sampath
July 10, 2013

With the monsoon come various diseases, and one of the most severe one is dengue. Also known as ‘break bone fever’ it is a painful and debilitating disease spread by mosquitoes. Caused due to the bite of an infected female aedes aegypti mosquito, the disease can be fatal. 

Once bitten, it takes about four to ten days for the symptoms to show. The most common symptoms are high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, nausea, vomiting, swollen glands, muscle and joint pain and in some cases a rash. The more severe forms of dengue are hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. There is no clear treatment for the condition nor is there a vaccine against it, so the best way is to prevent the disease from occurring at all. Here are a few simple and practical tips to keep dengue at bay: 

Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are known to bite humans during the day and their most common breeding grounds are man made containers. Therefore, it is advisable to not have any stagnant water around. Remember to clean out empty flower pots and not to over water potted plants. If the container that contains water cannot be emptied, remember to cover it well when not in use. 

Turn over empty pails and buckets, so that they do not collect excess water.

Use mosquito repellants regularly. Apply it well on all exposed areas, during the day as well as at night.

Make sure your window and door screens do not have any holes. If so, block those areas properly to eliminate mosquitoes.

If someone at home is ill with dengue, try to not let the mosquitoes bite them or others in the house.

Always sleep under a mosquito net.

If you use a cooler remember to empty out and clean the water tray regularly, even when not in use.

Always cover your trash can when not in use.

A natural method to keep mosquitoes at bay is to plant Tulsi near your window. The plant has properties that do not allow mosquitoes to breed. 

Using camphor as a repellant also works wonders. Light camphor in a room and close all the doors and windows. Leave it this way for about fifteen to twenty minutes to have a mosquito-free environment. 

Dengue is a completely preventable condition, all you have to do is take a few steps to keep yourself and your family safe. 

Link: http://health.india.com/diseases-conditions/prevent-dengue-with-these-10-practical-tips/

Reproduced here by courtesy of Health India. Com

Comment:

Platelet count in dengue:

How many numbers of platelets are present in blood after being affected by dengue? If the count of platelets decrease, will it lead to dengue?

Normal platelet count in a healthy adult is 140,000-400,000 platelets/cubic mm of blood. When infected with dengue virus, our body’s capacity to produce new platelets is affected. Platelet count starts decreasing below normal. Dengue is a viral disease spread by mosquitoes from one human to another. So, the only way it can really be prevented is by avoiding mosquito bites. Low platelet count per se does not cause dengue.

040. Molecular Diagnostic Kits For Chikungunya And Dengue Tests Coming.

HLL forays into molecular diagnostics with dengue, chikungunya test kits. 

By Pharma Biz  

New Delhi Bureau,
August 08, 2012

Kerala-based HLL Lifecare Limited, a mini ratna public sector undertaking with diversified business, will foray into molecular diagnostics area with a duplex test kit for chikungunya and dengue tests. The new multiplex molecular diagnostic kit, based on PCR (polymerase chain reaction), was developed by HLL in collaboration with the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, also based in Thiruvananthapuram, said a release here.

Currently, HLL Life Care is in a tie-up with Kerala State Institute for Virology and Infectious Diseases, under the state government’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Department, for third-party validation of the diagnostic kits. The product will be launched in the market very soon. “This kit comes as the latest offering from our portfolio to ease the burden of the common man,” said HLL chairman and managing director, Dr. M. Ayyappan. The new product would facilitate conduct of the test with large through-put screening for management of diseases. It is going to be a handy tool in screening of patients on a large scale basis in an affordable manner, he said.

The 1966-founded HLL, the leading manufacturer of condoms, is strong-footed in the diagnostic business with its Hind Labs that provide a complete range of path lab services. The company is planning to extend the facility for other viral platforms as well. HLL has a factory located at Manesar in Haryana, exclusively catering to the manufacturing of in-vitro diagnostic test kits. This unit had started with manufacture of pregnancy test kits and is currently into production of kits for dengue and malaria, among other infectious diseases.

The epidemic of chikungunya continues to resurface in the country every year, especially during the monsoon season. In 2010, as many as 48,176 clinically suspected cases were reported from 18 states/union territories (135 districts), according to the figures from the Planning Commission. Likewise, dengue is endemic to 31 states and UTs. In 2006, the country witnessed an outbreak of the disease with 12,317 cases and 184 deaths, from 270 districts. In 2010, a total of 28,292 cases and 110 deaths reported from 403 districts, recording the highest number in the last two decades. 

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=70525&sid=1


Reproduced here by courtesy of Pharma Biz. Com

037. Kerala Health Service being sold out wholesale to British.

Kerala govt to ink pact with London-based NICE to revitalize health sector in the state

By Pharma Biz

Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Amid reports that the health sector in Kerala is bedeviled by many problems that have led to reduction in quality of service delivery in certain health institutions, the state government has decided to ink a pact with the London based National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to revitalize the entire health services in the state.

The tie-up will be for the next three years and with the intervention of NICE, best standard could be maintained in all spheres of health sector in the state, said Rajeev Sadanandan, principal secretary, health, government of Kerala. He was speaking at the valedictory session of the pharmacists’ conference at Thiruvananthapuram recently. The total system will become in a systematic and proper way and separate guidelines for treatment, medicine, services of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other para medical professionals will come into force. In future, there will not be any variation in the treatment, he said.

NICE, an arm of the national health services of the UK government, provides independent, authoritative and evidence-based guidance on the most effective ways to prevent, diagnose and treat disease and ill health, reducing inequalities and variation.

“For the next three years, the department will be monitored by NICE, strict vigilance and standard can be maintained in each and every area of the health sector. They will carry out assessments of the most appropriate treatment regimes for different diseases. This will help the desired medical outcomes for patients. The use of new and existing medicines, treatments, clinical practice, guidance on treatment procedures, advice to patients and public sector workers on health promotion and ill-health avoidance will be provided by the experts of the organisation,” the health secretary said.

There are reports that the health sector in Kerala is bedeviled by many problems that have led to reduction in quality of service delivery in certain health institutions. Besides, unavailability of medicines in hospitals, high prices for essential drugs, inadequacy of sufficient staff and strikes by nurses have also affected the sector badly. The government is looking for a concrete solution to all these issues without chance for recurrence, it is learnt.

The health secretary said that in the next session of the state Legislative Assembly, the government will introduce the Clinical Establishment Bill which will standardize the fee being levied by private hospitals and clinical institutions for various services. Further, drug rationalization committee will also be formed in all district hospitals, which will prepare the list of medicines to be distributed under a scheme for providing generic drugs from November 1. In all the government hospitals in Kerala, generic medicines will be available on reasonable rates and a treatment protocol will also come into force from November, he added.

Regarding predicament of pharmacies in the hospital, the principal health secretary said he would look into the possibility of standardization of pharmacies and try to get accreditation from NABH for model pharmacies in the state. By receiving the set of guidelines prepared by the pharmacy council, he said the Council as well as the pharmacists association has to ensure the value addition to the health sector from their side.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=70748&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz. Com


Comment:

There was an independent and reliable system of medicine-actually a system of a combination of ingenious and native treatment and nourishing system- existing in India before the British installed allopathy and revamped the field of Indian Medical Attendance. Today, almost all indigenous systems including the world famous ayurveda are ignored and neglected and only allopathy is being given importance and monopoly. In India, even now, poor people when they are sick, can still go to a government hospital and become healthy again, availing the benefits of the famous Free Indian Hospital System. It is when we have no money and therefore no nutrition that diseases afflict us. Therefore this free hospital system has been a great blessing to the Indian masses. It has been what sustained the people of India through their years of sickness. The money involved in retaining this system was people’s money, not the dowry money of Indian Health Authorities. It is the same money which funds the treatment of Government Ministers, MPs VIPs and Government Secretaries abroad; there is no shame in people regaining their health by availing free treatment. The very people in India who are directly partaking in bringing about this sale deed of a country's good will and charity are beneficiaries of this Free Indian Hospital System which they are going to abolish for ever. Which one of them does not receive free hospital care from government?

In the United Kingdom there is now no free hospital treatment. Either you pay money at the hospital or you pay money in advance for insurance. This is exactly what the British monitoring of Kerala Health Services Department is going to bring to Kerala. It is a full implementation of the British Health System, minus everything good in it. The first thing they are going to force without caring people’s resistance is abolishing every kind of free medical assistance. What is a collapsing British economy finding prospectful in extending managerial assistance to the health care sector of a thriving former colony, except exporting over-paid excess staff? -Editor-in-Chief.

036. Now anyone rich to study abroad can practice in India without tests.

Centre plans to allow overseas Indian medical graduates to practice without tests.

By Pharma Biz

Our Bureau, New Delhi
Friday, January 04, 2013

Centre is planning to amend the Medical Council of India (MCI) Act to allow  Indian doctors, who have graduated abroad, to practice in India without the mandatory tests and clearance.

A bill in this regard has been drafted by the Union health ministry which plans to push it during the Budget session of the Parliament, Union Health Secretary P K Pradhan disclosed at the ongoing Global Healthcare Summit in Kerala recently.

Soliciting ideas and partnerships from the private sector, Pradhan said the Government was planning to improve the secondary care by upgrading the district hospitals. “There is a huge scope for partnership with the private sector in the areas like diagnostic services and labs. We will encourage district hospitals to run medical college campuses to augment the capacity in PG education and private players can help in this area,” he said at the CEO Forum in connection with the meet.

Speaking on the occasion, managing director of Sami Labs Dr Muhammed said his company was inspired by Ayurveda, the mother of all sciences. “We have developed two natural drugs, one for glaucoma and another for treating psoriasis first time in the country. Three other drugs are in the pipeline,’’ he said.

DM Healthcare chairman Dr Azad Moopen suggested that the forum should be utilized to firm up concrete partnership, to begin with the idea of setting up medical colleges in each district. To achieve the inclusive growth, he also called upon the government to think of levying Sin tax on alcohol and even on soft drinks to part finance a proper social insurance scheme, a release said.

“On improving the quality, the Government can do it easily. Instead of voluntary systems of accreditation, government should make it mandatory for all clinical establishments to have certificates like that from NABH,” he argued.

Device Controller of India Dr Eswara Reddy, Chairman of Medical Council of India Dr K K Talwar, Principal Health Secretary in Kerala Shri Rajeev Sadanandan, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences medical director Dr Prem Nair, president of American Medical Association Dr Jeremy Lazarus, Health Attache from US Embassy in Delhi Mr Stevan Smith, Dr Rajan Badwe of Tata Institute, Dr Philip Augustine of Lakeshore Hospital, Mr Bob Miglani of Pfizer, Dr K M Cherian of Frontier Healthcare, Dr Neal Simon of American University of Antigua, Dr M Sahadulla of KIMS, Tridvandrum and Dr Faizal Khan of NIMS were among those to attend the high-profile meet.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=73014&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz.Com

Comment: 

Some fathers will go to any extreme to make their nincompoop sons and daughters doctors, and they will get anyone’s help too. It was the dream of all low-grade medical students who study abroad to practice in India without undergoing the stringent tests and examinations of India- the hall mark of Indian medicine which placed Indian doctors in much demand abroad. Now that dream is being fulfilled by rich fathers who are in total control of authority.

035. Major pharma companies behind vigilance raid: Drug Control Officers.

Major pharma companies behind vigilance raid in drug control offices in Kerala: KSDCOA

By Pharma Biz. Com

Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai

Friday, August 17, 2012

The Kerala State Drugs Control Officers Association (KSDCOA) has said that the allegations being levelled against the state drug control administration by a section of the media on account of a state-wide vigilance raid at the drug control offices last week are baseless and ill-motivated.

According to the Association, there are certain major pharmaceutical companies behind the vigilance raid, against whom the department has recently initiated punitive action for violations of various sections in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act (D&C Act).

KSDCOA has admitted that a performance audit conducted at the DC offices by the office of the Accountant General last year had raised the eyebrows of the auditing officers on the functioning of the enforcement officers. The association said the reason for the AG’s criticisms were due to lack of awareness about legislation and ground realities.

The enforcement officers said Rule 63 of the drugs and cosmetics rules stipulates that once an application for renewal is received on time, the licence is deemed to be in force until the application is disposed off. So there is no need of worry in any way for the trader or dealer. However, they maintained that the reason for the delay in issuing the licence was shortage of staff in the offices.

Regarding delay in issuing test results of samples, the association said the D&C Act foresees no role for the drug control officers in testing of drugs, which is the duty and responsibility of the government analysts attached to the drug testing laboratory. But the officers have admitted that most of the test results are obtained after the drugs were consumed by the patients. Here also, the officers found the reason for the delay is shortage of staff, machinery and laboratories.

By reiterating the fact that the state authorities have no role in price fixation of drugs, the drug control officers said they have not shied away from taking punitive actions against the dealer whenever a case of charging of excess price or refusal of drugs was detected.

While admitting that there are instances of corruption in the department as in other spheres of life, they said several of the officers are doing honest job to keep the state free from spurious and sub-standard drugs. They claimed that Kerala drugs control department is the first government agency in the country to launch prosecution against the pharma companies which had refused supply of drugs to a section of traders at the instance of All Kerala Chemists & Druggists Association (AKCDA). The incessant flow of drugs to the state owned Karunya Community Pharmacies has taken place due to the intervention of the department by initiating action against AKCDA, the association opined.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=70665&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz.Com

034. Vigilance raid in Kerala Drug Control Offices.

Vigilance dept conducts raids in drug control offices across Kerala

By Pharma Biz

Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Sleuths of the directorate of vigilance and anti-corruption (DVAC) in Kerala conducted simultaneous raids in all the Assistant Drug Controllers’ and Drug Inspectors’ offices across the state on August 10 following informal complaints of rampant corruption against drug control officers, said a senior officer in the DVAC.

The vigilance officer said the department was receiving a slew of complaints from the drug traders from all the districts on alleged demand of bribery by drug inspectors and senior officials for renewal of the traders’ licences and for test reports from labs. According to him the drug control officials are deliberately delaying the services of the concerned offices for not giving them money as bribe by the traders.

He said his team has seized Rs.11000 from a drug inspector’s pocket during the raid. More cases of corruption are being investigated and surprise raids will be conducted further in all the offices, if needed.

Speaking to Pharmabiz, the officer of the anti-corruption department said all the problems pertaining to the price, quality, standard and availability of drugs are occurred in the state due to the inefficient way of operations of the drug control department. He said the department’s lackadaisical attitude is the main cause for the distribution of sub-standard quality drugs in the state.

However, he admitted that there is heavy work load in analytical laboratory of the department because of shortage of staff, but renewal of licences is delayed for collecting money from traders.

The vigilance officer, who led the team in the capital for raid, said a drug inspector asks for Rs.1000 per week from each medical store and senior officers demand a sum of Rs.5000 to find solutions for the traders’ problems with the government. When asked whether such cases of corruption were received against ayurvedic drug inspectors, he said there were some cases.

When contacted, state drugs controller CS Satheesh Kumar said there are limitations in the facilities of the drug testing lab, hence the test reports are getting delayed. Regarding renewal of licences, he said once the application is given for renewal, the trader can go on with his business until the department releases the renewed certificate and the delay does not affect his business.

Further he said there is shortage of drug inspectors and analysts in the department, and once the new lab under construction in Kochi is commissioned, all the problems will be solved.

The anti-corruption bureau has termed the operation as ‘Operation Tablet’. The officials inspected some retail shops to find out any irregularity and took stock of the situation.

This was the first time the vigilance conducted a raid in all the offices of the DC administration in the state. DVAC will submit a comprehensive report on the state wide raid to the government shortly for further action.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=70622&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz.Com

033. Do Not Build Drug Testing Labs So That Culprits Shall Escape.

Meagre allocation of funds by state govt holds up completion of Kochi drug testing lab

By Pharma Biz

Peethaambaran Kunnathoor, Chennai
Thursday, March 21, 2013

The plan to commission the second drug testing laboratory of the Kerala drugs control department, being constructed at Ernakulam, is unlikely to be a reality in the near future owing to paucity of funds for the project. Even the completion of the building work is being held up. 

The state government has allocated only Rs.2 crore in the budget for three proposed drug testing laboratories including the Kochi lab. But, even for the completion of the on-going work at Kochi lab requires a minimum of Rs.6 crore, sources from the health department told Pharmabiz.

The department of drugs control had submitted proposals to the government with a plan outlay for Rs.24 crore for all the three labs. For completing the on-going project of Kochi Lab, it submitted a proposal for Rs.8 crore and to start work for the other two laboratories at Thrissur and at Kozhikodu, two more projects of the same amount were submitted.

Unfortunately, the state government did not accepted any of the proposals putting the upcoming project at Kochi into trouble. Due to scarcity of funds, the work of the lab cannot be completed as expected and commissioning of it was slated for May this year but will be delayed, it is learnt.

“The work of the Kochi laboratory is moving at a snail’s pace. We expected a minimum of Rs.6 crore to complete the work and commissioning of the lab planned in May this year. But government has sanctioned only a meagre amount for this project. This means that work for other two labs is also not able to start this year. The only hope is the diversion of unutilised funds from other departments towards this purpose and we are waiting for that,” said an official close to the department.

Currently, the department has only one drug testing laboratory situated close to the office of the department at Thiruvananthapuram and it has a capacity for testing 4000 samples per year. Whereas, the estimated capacity for the upcoming Kochi lab is 6000 samples. The total number of field staff collection is near about 300 samples per month. Due to lack of modern facilities and shortage of technical staff, all the samples can not be tested on time and delays the result for even one year. By the time, all the substandard or date expired drugs might have been sold out in the market. So, the state needs more drug testing labs with modern machinery in order to strengthen the regulatory mechanism, sources said.

Link: http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=74398&sid=1

Republished here by courtesy of Pharma Biz. Com

032. NHRC issues notice to Kerala Health Department for causing eye sight losses.

NHRC issues notice to Kerala Health Department. 

By The Hindu
September 3, 2013

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Department of Health and Family Welfare of Kerala on reports that four persons lost their eyesight allegedly after undergoing cataract surgery in Thrissur Medical College.

A notice in this regard has been issued to the Principal Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Kerala to submit a report on the matter within four weeks, a National Human Rights Commission release issued on Tuesday said.

The notice was issued after the Commission took suo motu cognisance of a media report that four persons, who had undergone cataract surgery in Thrissur Medical College two weeks ago, lost vision in their right eye.

The Commission observed that the press report, if true, raised a serious issue of violation of right to health of the victims.

More than a dozen cataract surgeries were reportedly conducted at the Taluk hospital from July 22 to August 5 this year.

Link: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/nhrc-issues-notice-to-kerala-health-department/article5088855.ece

Republished here by courtesy of The Hindu

Comment: 

Read here soon about the notorious open air eye surgery camps in Kerala, which were convened for mere political popularity, resulting in eye sight loss to hundreds of good citizens, with no compensation payments or punishments.

031. Historic medical compensation of Rs.6 Crores for doctors’ negligence awarded by Supreme Court

1. Record medical negligence compensation: SC orders hospital, doctors to pay Rs 6 crore

Editorial Team
First News
October 24, 2013

The Supreme Court on Thursday awarded Rs.5.96 crore compensation to Kunal Saha, an Indian-American doctor, ordering the Kolkata-based Advance Medicare Research Institute (AMRI) to pay for medical negligence resulting in the death of his wife Anuradha Saha in 1998.

A bench of Justice C.K. Prasad and Justice V. Gopala Gowda passed the order on an appeal by Saha, who had challenged the compensation of Rs.1.72 crore awarded by National Consumer Forum.  Welcoming the verdict, Saha said the ‘historic’ judgement should rekindle hope for countless victims. The US-based NRI said it should tell many honest and caring doctors it is time to step forward and cleanse the system. ‘If you let a few corrupt and politically connected doctors to run the show, all doctors will continue to share the blame and will never be able to restore public trust that we had not so long ago,’ he said in a statement.

The apex court earlier held some of the doctors of the hospital liable for criminal liability. The court directed that the hospital would pay the compensation along with an interest of 6 percent per annum from 1998. The court has asked two doctors – Balram Prakash and Sukamar Mukharjee – to pay Rs.10 lakh each and asked another doctor, Baidyanath Haldar, to pay Rs.5 lakh to Saha.

The tragic story of Anuradha started a month after she reached Kolkata in March 1998 for her summer vacation, when in April, some rashes surfaced on her skin. She consulted Mukharjee who advised her rest. However, rashes resurfaced again in early May with far greater intensity. Mukharjee prescribed her two doses of Depomedrol injection every day. As her condition did not improve, she was admitted to AMRI and subsequently she was shifted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital where she was diagnosed to be suffering from life-threatening disease called toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). At AMRI, Anuradha was treated by Mukharjee. TEN, also known as Lyell’s syndrome, is generally caused by a reaction to drugs and leads to the top layer of skin detaching from the lower layer all over the body. It is a more severe form of Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

Anuradha succumbed to her ailment May 28, 1998.

Link: http://health.india.com/news/record-medical-negligence-compensation-sc-orders-hospital-doctors-to-pay-rs-6-crore/

Republished here by courtesy of Health India.Com



2. SC judgement in medical negligence case historic: Saha.

By Health India.Com
October 25, 2013
With inputs from IANS

NRI doctor Kunal Saha, awarded Rs 5.96 crore compensation on Thursday for his wife’s death due to medical negligence, said the judgement should rekindle hope for countless victims. The Supreme Court ordered the Kolkata-based AMRI Hospital to pay the compensation for medical negligence resulting in the death of Saha’s wife, Anuradha, in 1988.

Terming the judgement as historic, Saha said it should tell many honest and caring doctors it is time to step forward and cleanse the system. ‘If you let a few corrupt and politically connected doctors to run the show, all doctors will continue to share the blame and will never be able to restore public trust that we had not so long ago,’ he said in a statement.

Apex court judge Justice V. Gopala Gowda passed the order on an appeal by Saha who had challenged a compensation of Rs.1.72 crore awarded by the National Consumer Forum. Saha lives in the United States. The apex court earlier held some doctors of the hospital liable for criminal liability.

What is medical negligence?

It is the medico legal term used to describe the negligent behaviour of a medical professional. The term medical malpractice is also used when a person providing medical care fails to perform his/her duty to the fullest of their ability and knowledge. This includes providing shoddy medical care, not informing the patient of the risk involved in a procedure, not giving the patient or their family a substantial reason for the death or irreparable harm caused to a patient, prescribing wrong medication, diagnosing a condition incorrectly, disclosing patient information without his/her permission, etc. A patient has a number of rights when it comes to medical care, and one should be well aware of their rights. It is important to remember that it is a medical practitioner’s duty to inform a patient beyond doubt about their condition or procedure.  

Link: http://health.india.com/news/sc-judgement-in-medical-negligence-case-historic-saha/

Republished here by courtesy of Health India.Com


Comments:

Look, it happened even to a doctor.

030. NHRC issues notice to Kerala over infant deaths.

NHRC issues notice to Kerala over infant deaths.

By RxPG NEWS
May 28, 2013  

Via IANS,  New Delhi

The National Human Rights Commission - Tuesday sought a report over the malnutrition deaths of several infants at Attappadi in Kerala.

Citing an editorial in a newspaper, the commission said: The contents of the editorial, if true, raise a serious issue of violation of human rights of tribal children and mothers in the Attappadi region. Accordingly, a notice has been issued to the chief secretary, Kerala, calling for a report within six weeks.

NHRC has taken suo motu cognizance of an editorial alleging that several infants died due to malnutrition in Attappadi region of Kerala, particularly in Kadambara South, Vellakulam colony and Nellippathy colony, since January, 2012, the commission said.

Quoting Kerala's health department's statistics, the editorial said that recently 23,597 people were screened in 7,565 houses in the three panchayats of Attappadi. Of them, 496 adults, 70 pregnant women and 283 children below the age of 12 were found to be anaemic.

Link: http://www.rxpgnews.com/medicalnews/NHRC-issues-notice-to-Kerala-over-infant-deaths_638884.shtml


Republished here by courtesy of Rx PG News

029. Russian delegation in Kerala to experience pleasures of Ayurvedam!

Russian delegation in Kerala to experience Ayurveda first-hand

By Health India.Com

October 30, 2013 

A six-member Russian delegation, led by Deputy Health Minister Igor Kagramanyan and Sergei Kalashnikov, chairman of the Russian parliamentary committee on health is arriving in the state capital and stay for a week to have a first-hand experience of Ayurveda so that it can be promoted in their country. 

It is visiting under the aegis of NGO Ayurveda Russia-India Association to have talks with Kerala health and tourism ministers and officials. The NGO’s representative told IANS that the delegation would have an exposure to Ayurveda. They would undergo a week-long Ayurveda rejuvenation programme at resorts.

‘The department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, of the central Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is coordinating the visit. They will be taking care of the promotion of Ayurveda at the government level between the two countries,’ said the spokesman. He also said that the biggest beneficiary of meeting between representatives from the two countries would be the numerous resorts that offer Ayurveda packages in the state for Russian tourists.

‘Once this gets the approval, insurance companies in Russia would reimburse Ayurveda packages for them,’ said Narayanan. The visiting delegation is also expected to discuss about having short courses on Ayurveda at Russian universities.

Link: http://health.india.com/news/russian-delegation-in-kerala-to-experience-ayurveda-first-hand/

Republished here by courtesy of Health India. Com


Comment:

Health tourism is developing as a lucrative industry in Kerala, accompanied by prostitution in many resorts in the name of massage, occasional raids and media news. Ayurveda is on the decline in Kerala thanks to negligence of government and also due to pressure from allopathy profession. Due to forest laws and also due to de-forestation and eco-destruction, raw materials for ayurvedic preparations are rarely available now in Kerala, resulting in massive manufacture of bogus preparations. Professionals in the field of ayurvedam know that there is no scope for it in Kerala now, even though it is the only natural and dependable system of medicine advisable for Kerala. Thousands of delegations from all countries have come and gone, spending precious public revenue, and ayurvedam is still to be seen only in Kerala. What is going on even now is a farce. Co-existence of ayurvedam in government allopathic hospitals is condemned by medical bureaucrats and frowned upon by government. With this much number of half-learned physicians and academics practising in Kerala, there is today no need for anyone going to Kerala to study ayurvedam. This is only a publicity stunt for Russian politicians, Indian bureaucrats and a few massage centre owners. If the Russians are really interested in learning something about mingling traditional treatment systems with the modern scientific techniques of allopathy, it is better they visit the People’s Republic of China urgently, where we can see the harmonious co-existence of Acu-Puncture and Allopathy.