A seven-year-old girl died and 53 others fell ill after being administered chloroquine tablets during a malaria prevention programme at Gollaguppa village in Yetapaka mandal of Andhra Pradesh ’s Polavaram district on Tuesday, officials said.
She was initially taken to the Lakshmipuram hospital and later shifted to Bhadrachalam Hospital for better treatment. The Andhra Pradesh government also arranged food for the affected patients and their attendants at the hospital. The collector appealed to residents not to panic, assuring them that the government was closely monitoring the situation.
Kumar said in all, 54 people from Gollaguppa village were brought to Bhadrachalam Hospital after they developed complications. The collector said the 53 patients included 48 children and five adults.
The incident occurred after health officials conducted a fever surveillance and medical camp in the village, where a high number of malaria cases were reportedly detected, according to Polavaram district collector K Dinesh Kumar. “However, doctors declared her dead by the time she reached the hospital,” Kumar said. Preliminary medical assessment suggested that the seven-year-old girl may have had an underlying hereditary or familial cardiac condition, according to the collector. “Doctors suspected that chloroquine could have triggered cardiac arrhythmia in a person with such a pre-existing condition, although a definitive clinical conclusion is still awaited,” he said. Health officials said some of the patients developed vomiting after taking the tablets. Doctors told the collector that vomiting was a known and relatively common side effect of the medicine, and the symptoms in most patients were not indicative of a serious reaction. “Of them, 53 were undergoing treatment, while another 17 people in the village were being monitored through a special medical camp,” he said.
All were in a stable condition, he said, adding most of those who recovered were expected to be discharged later on Wednesday. The collector visited Bhadrachalam Hospital on Wednesday and reviewed the treatment provided and discussed their health condition with the doctors.
