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President issues directives to control spread of meningitis
[October 28, 2005 - 4.00 GMT]
The Committee
appointed by President Chandrika Kumaratunga to inquire into the
meningitis deaths at the De Zoysa Maternity and
Castle
Street Hospital
and certain other hospitals has submitted its report. The President
agreed with the findings and has directed Health Minister Nimal Siripala
de Silva to immediately implement all the recommendations of the
Committee.
The Committee said
in its report, the outbreak of Meningitis was due to contaminated
syringes.
The findings;
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The source of
contamination appeared diverse and the committee was not possible to
identify the source of contamination.
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The syringes
had been drawn from ‘lots’ supplied by different manufacturers, some
of them from packages brought in as tsunami assistance.
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Contamination
could have occurred at the manufacturer’s end, at the different
locations of storage such as port warehouses, Medical Supplies Unit
and other storage points or during transport.
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There was no
sample testing on delivery of these items to main and other stores.
Recommendations.
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All stocks
from which these infected syringes were drawn should be discarded.
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The remaining
stocks of syringes and needles should be examined by experts in the
field viz SLMA,
College of
Microbiologists,
College of
Anaesthetists,
College of
Physicians, and
College of
Medical Administrators
before they are released to hospitals.
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Administration
of spinal anaesthesia should be done only with sterile pre-packed
spinal anaesthesia sets purchased from internationally reputed
sources.
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Strict
adherence to current international standards [WHO/ISO] when calling
for tenders.
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All
consignments delivered to the country should be certified with
letters of guarantee of quality.
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Ensure all
imported devices checked for sterility.
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Improve all
existing local storage facilities.
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Ensure
adequate buffer stocks at the State Pharmaceutical Corporation are
maintained to avoid “emergency” local purchases.
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Qualified
pharmacists should be placed in charge of medical stores.
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Multi-dose
vials of anaesthetic material should not be used.
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The patients
who have contracted meningitis due to contaminated syringes should
be treated with the recommended drugs notwithstanding cost.
The Committee has
also recommended that substantial compensation be paid to the next of
kin of the four deceased patients.
The two members
of Committee of Inquiry were Dr. J. B. Peiris, Senior Consultant
Neurologist and Mr. C. G. Wickremesinghe, Senior Advisor to the
President.
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Last Updated
Date: October 28, 2005 - 4.00 GMT |
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