MANGALURU: A defective batch of government-supplied pregnancy test kits led to a 13-year-old girl being incorrectly identified as pregnant at Panja Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Dakshina Kannada, sparking protests from her family and resulting in a departmental warning to the doctor involved.
The minor girl visited the PHC with fever and severe vomitting on July 1, 2025. A urine pregnancy test (UPT) conducted twice at the facility reportedly turned 'positive' and subsequently she was referred to the Sullia Taluk Hospital for further evaluation. Subsequent tests at a private hospital and later at the government hospital did not confirm pregnancy.
Following a complaint by the girl’s father before the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC), the district health authorities conducted an inquiry.
The inquiry report submitted to the KSHRC on Wednesday noted that while the initial UPT showed positive results twice, the doctor should have maintained confidentiality and awaited confirmatory scanning before disclosing the information. The girl’s parents accused the PHC of defaming their daughter, stating that the information spread within the community and caused severe mental trauma to the family.
Based on the findings, a warning notice has been issued to the Administrative Medical Officer of Panja PHC, directing greater caution in handling such cases in the future.
“We had received complaints about a particular batch of pregnancy kits malfunctioning. After noticing inconsistencies, we locally procured additional kits to conduct confirmation tests,” said District Health and Family Welfare Officer Dr. H.R. Thimmaiah.
He said that the PHC doctor had conducted the pregnancy test, as cases of minor pregnancies are relatively higher in that region. However, he admitted that the doctor failed to act prudently.