Telangana's deworming campaign, run once every year, has hit a serious snag, with health officials desperately looking for a solution with mere months to go before the revised deadline. The state's Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation (TGMSIDS) recently discovered that almost 19 of 25 batches of albendazole tablets failed to pass quality tests.
Manufacturing Partner Blacklisted Following Repeated Violations
The row began with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) labelling a few batches as "not of standard quality" in its routine checks in March-April. The unsafe trend led to the immediate suspension of action against the Madhya Pradesh-based company, which now faces the risk of being blacklisted and facing legal proceedings.
Drug Control Administration officials have confirmed that companies are blacklisted on three successive quality failures.
"A company is blacklisted if there are three continuous NSQs. We filed a case against the manufacturer due to repeated violations. A chargesheet will be filed soon, and further investigation will be conducted," an official with the DCA said.
New Partnership Brings Hope for August Launch
Sensing the urgency, TGMSIDS officials have collaborated with a Delhi-based company, which has a plant facility in Haryana, to make over 10 million tablets by the month of June, to ensure the deworming campaign moves according to the plan. The new company is holding its own, providing 130,000 tablets daily, out of which 1.6 million have already been supplied.
"The usual time for delivery is 60 days. Of the total 25 batches that the company delivered, as many as 19 were found NSQ. This is why we could not conduct the deworming campaign in Feb as there was a shortage of these tablets. While many states conduct the campaign in two rounds (Feb and Aug), we only follow the Feb cycle as the malnutrition and worm infestation in children in the state does not prevail to the extent it was 20 years ago," explained the TGMSIDS officials.
Realising the importance of a deworming programme
Albendazole tablets are a valuable tool to combat parasitic infections among kids against common worms such as tapeworms and ringworm. The tablets significantly improve kids' nutrition, health, and performance at school.
The campaign of last year had distributed 11.2 million tablets among children in the age group of 1-19 in government schools, while another 142,000 doses were given to pregnant women in the state.
In the coming years: Aug campaign on track
While the February campaign was threatened with cancellation, health authorities are hopeful about the revised August initiative. While many states have biennial deworming campaigns, Telangana typically has campaigns in February, as the rates of malnutrition and worm infestation have decreased substantially compared to two decades back.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Muhammad Faisal Arshad/MSM)