WHO Wants India To Explain Rajasthan Maternal Deaths

JAIPUR-What began as a series of unexplained maternal deaths in Rajasthan has now escalated into a drug safety investigation after seven women died following childbirth over less than two months.

The Union Health Ministry has cancelled the manufacturing license of M/s Jackson Laboratories Private Limited, an Amritsar-based pharmaceutical company that manufactured the Oxytocin injection suspected to be linked to the deaths.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has also sought a detailed report from the Indian government following investigations into the quality of ‘TOCIN’ (Oxytocin Injection 5 ml), manufactured by the company.

Laboratory analysis by the Rajasthan Drug Control Department found that the sample failed to meet quality standards because it did not contain the prescribed quantity of the active ingredient, Oxytocin.

Based on these findings, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization inspected the company’s manufacturing units in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and recommended cancellation of its manufacturing license. The recommendation was subsequently accepted by the Union Health Ministry.

The WHO has asked the Indian government whether similar incidents have occurred elsewhere in the country and what corrective measures have been taken.

Oxytocin is widely used during childbirth to induce labor, control excessive bleeding after delivery and manage incomplete miscarriages. Because it is used in life-saving procedures, any compromise in its quality can have serious consequences for mothers and newborns. (IANS)