Baripada: The Sub-Divisional Medical Officer (SDMO) of Udala on Monday denied allegations by a family that they found insects inside an antibiotic strip collected from the Niramaya Free Medicines Distribution Kendra at Udala Sub-Divisional Hospital (SDH) in Mayurbhanj district.
The allegation surfaced after Raja Hembram, a resident of Beguniadihi village under the jurisdiction of Udala police station, claimed that insects came out of an antibiotic strip prescribed for his minor son, Sidha Hembram, who was suffering from a cold and cough.
According to the family, Raja had taken his son to Udala SDH on July 8, where doctors prescribed medicines for the child. The medicines were collected from the hospital’s Niramaya Kendra. The family alleged that while opening the strip to administer the fourth dose, they noticed insects inside it and immediately stopped giving the medicine to the child.
“I took my younger son to the hospital and collected the medicines prescribed by the doctor from the Niramaya Kendra. When we opened one of the strips yesterday (July 12), insects came out of it,” Raja Hembram alleged.
The incident raised questions from the family about the quality of medicines being distributed under the government-run free medicine scheme.
However, SDMO Dr Minaketan Mohanty rejected the allegation. He said hospital authorities examined other strips from the same batch after learning about the incident and found no evidence of contamination.
“When I came to know about the matter, I contacted our senior pharmacist and asked her to verify the allegation. We opened two or three strips from the same batch, but no insects were found inside any of them,” Dr Mohanty said.
