VIJAYAWADA: Seven children, who were admitted to the Government General Hospital at Machilipatnam in Krishna district, fell ill following the administration of an antibiotic injection on Friday. According to sources, as many as 15 children had been admitted to the paediatric ward in the hospital.
Elaborating on the incident, hospital superintendent Ramesh Kumar said Amoxicillin potassium clavulanate injection was administered to nine kids, who presented with cold and cough, at 8 pm. Around 9 pm, temperature of seven children spiked.
The children were immediately shifted to the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) as a preventative measure. Asserting that the dosage given to the children was appropriate, he said seven doctors were summoned to provide special care to the children. By 11:30 pm, all the children had fully recovered.
Speaking to TNIE, Andhra Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairman Kesali Apparao said, “We have instructed the district health officials to monitor the children until they recuperate completely.” He added that the District Women and Child Welfare officer will investigate the incident and submit a report.
District Medical and Health Officer (DM&HO) Dr G Geeta Bai assured that proper care will be provided to the children. The hospital superintendent has been instructed to investigate the incident to find what triggered the side-effects in the children and submit a report to prevent future incidents, she said.
The health officer added that the seven children — Ayanshi, Yoshita, Naga Manikanta, Mohammed Rehan, Gayathri, Varshita, and Parthu — will be discharged on Sunday.
Meanwhile, TDP politburo member Kollu Ravindra criticised the YSRC government and alleged that the children fell sick due to the “substandard medicine” provided to them at the hospital.
Stating that the medicine was distributed by Sai Pharmaceuticals, he demanded the government to blacklist the firm. Further, he accused YSRC MLA Perni Nani of directing patients to scanning centres owned by his acquaintances.