The Primary Health Post (PHP) in Bhimad VDC of the district distributed date-expired medicines for elephantiasis. [break]
The drug administered to one Ramesh Chandra Subedi was found to have crossed expiry date. “The PHP team has provided us five sets of anti-elephantiasis medicines. When we saw the expiry date of the medicines before consuming it, we found that they had crossed the expiry date some eight months ago,” added Subedi.
Moreover, expiry date was mentioned in only one medicine, informed Subedi, adding, “That medicine too had crossed the expiry date in May last year.” After discovering that the medicines distributed by the PHP team had crossed the expiry date, Subedi had warned others not to consume the medicines.
According to a source, many other expired medicines were also found in PHP.
The expired medicines were distributed due to negligence of PHP officials in Bhimad, said Aishwarya Bhattarai, focal person of national anti-elephantiasis campaign. “It has been learnt that the PHP staffers mistakenly mixed the fresh stock with the stock from last year," said Bhattarai.
The Tanahu District Health Office (DHO) has also blamed the PHP staffers for negligence. Taranath Poudel, chief of DHO said all the expired medicines have been returned to the PHP.
Meanwhile, many people have declined to take the anti-elephantiasis medicine after a Dalit woman lost her life in Saptari, reportedly, after consuming the medicine.
“We have declined to take the medicines after learning that the medicines have side-effects,” said Bharat Kumar Shrestha, a local of Damauli.
Most of the government employees in the district have also refused to take the medicines. “How can we consume the medicines when a woman has died and others have taken ill after taking the medicines,” said a government employee on condition of anonymity.
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