Health

The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission has issued a drug safety alert advising healthcare professionals and patients to monitor adverse reactions of painkiller Meftal, commonly used for menstrual cramps and rheumatoid arthritis.

An autonomous institution of the Ministry of Health, the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission sets standards for all drugs that are manufactured, sold and consumed in India. The mefenamic acid painkiller is prescribed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, dysmenorrhoea, mild to moderate pain, inflammation, fever and dental pain.

The Commission, in its alert, stated that a preliminary analysis of adverse drug reactions from the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) database revealed drug reactions with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. If any reaction is encountered, the alert advised, people should report the matter to the national coordination centre of the PvPI under the Commission by filing a form on the website - www.ipc.gov.in - or through android mobile app ADR PvPI and PvPI Helpline No. 1800-180-3024.

Seven bacterial cases were detected at AIIMS Delhi between April and September but they have no link whatsoever to the recent surge in respiratory infections in children reported from some parts of the world, including China, the Union health ministry said on Thursday.

The seven cases were detected as part of an ongoing study at AIIMS Delhi during the six-month period (April to September) and there "is no cause for worry". "It is clarified that these seven cases have no link whatsoever to the recent surge in respiratory infections in children reported from some parts of the world, including China," the ministry said.

So far this year, Mycoplasma pneumonia has not been detected in any of the 611 samples tested at the Department of Microbiology, AIIMS Delhi as part of the Indian Council of Medical Research's multiple respiratory pathogen surveillance, which included mainly severe acute respiratory illness (SARI, which comprised about 95% of the cases) by real-time PCR.

The Delhi government is investigating an Apollo hospital, part of India's largest private hospital chain, after a media report by the Telegraph UK about the illegal sale by Myanmar nationals of their kidneys for organ transplants.

The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO) wrote to authorities in the capital after the Telegraph alleged the hospital was involved in a cash for kidneys scandal, where young villagers were flown in from Myanmar and then enticed to sell their kidneys to rich Burmese patients.  "Any suggestion of our wilful complicity or implicit sanctioning of any illegal activities relating to organ transplants is wholly denied," the report quoted Apollo saying.