Thiruvananthapuram, 29 Oct (H.S.):

Keralam Health Minister K. Muraleedharan told the Assembly on Thursday that the government would investigate whether expired remdesivir was administered to six Nipah patients who died while undergoing treatment at Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital between 2023 and 2025.

Replying to a submission by Mathew Kuzhalnadan, the minister said an expert medical board headed by Dr Aravind, chief of infectious diseases at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, had been constituted to conduct a comprehensive investigation.

The inquiry will examine whether expired medication contributed to the deaths and whether other Nipah or COVID-19 patients who received the antiviral suffered adverse effects. No causal link between the suspected drug use and the deaths has been established.

According to the minister, Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited last procured remdesivir through Karunya on June 3, 2021. The consignment comprised 3,000 vials purchased for ₹42 lakh, with an expiry date of May 30, 2023.

No purchases through alternative channels for government hospitals were recorded during the period under scrutiny, he said.

However, Kozhikode Medical College’s records showed that 102 vials were used in 2023-24, followed by 34 in 2024-25 and 10 in 2025-26. These figures raised concerns within the department that expired stocks might have been administered.

Of six Nipah cases reported in 2023, two patients died. Both patients diagnosed in 2024 died, while two of the three patients identified in 2025 succumbed to the infection.

The minister said 50 vials used in 2026-27 had been specially brought from Bahrain on June 12, 2026. The sole patient diagnosed this year recovered completely.

The directors of medical education and health services have been instructed to urgently collect details of every patient administered remdesivir at Kozhikode Medical College. The records will support the board’s examination of drug administration, possible adverse effects and the six reported deaths.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman