Keonjhar: An 11-year-old girl from Keonjhar district died on Monday morning while undergoing treatment at the District Headquarters Hospital, leading to allegations that expired medicine supplied from a local ANM centre caused her death.
According to reports, the deceased was the daughter of an ASHA worker from Talabarada village under Singpur panchayat in Banspal block in Keonjhar district. The girl had developed fever last Thursday. Her mother collected medicine for her from the Singpur ANM Centre. The family has alleged that the tablets provided were expired. After the girl was given two doses of the medicine, her condition deteriorated. She was rushed to Keonjhar District Headquarters Hospital for treatment but died on Monday.
The family further claimed that the medicine given was for malaria and that the child’s health worsened instead of improving after taking the doses.
The ANM concerned has denied the allegations. According to her, the expired medicine was replaced with fresh stock immediately after the error was noticed.
She also stated that two doses of medicine were given to the child at the same time, which led to the complications.
The child’s death has prompted the Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Dr Dhaneswar Sethy to direct the concerned officials to investigate the circumstances surrounding the case.
