Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that more than 100 heart patients had died in and out of various hospitals from reactions to a dubious drug distributed by the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC), outlining the scope of the catastrophe, now in its fifth day, that has caused widespread panic. In a strange move, the chief minister revealed figures that were a lot more than the ones reported to the media by the Health Department. Shahbaz told reporters after a meeting held to review the measures taken to overcome the situation that the drug samples had been sent to drug testing laboratories in Britain and France through two responsible people and action would be taken upon receiving the lab reports.
He said three different samples of the drug had been prepared which included one sample from the hospital stocks, one from under-treatment patients and one from the medicines retrieved from the families of those who had died from the reaction to the drug. The chief minister also said he had chaired a meeting in which the detailed figures of deaths had been presented to him, according to which more than 70 people died in hospitals while nearly 20 people lost their lives out of hospitals, not just in Lahore but in other areas of the province as well. He said that government teams were also investigating this incident and as soon as the investigation report was received, it would be brought before the people. Replying to a question, Shahbaz said manufacturing and import of medicines was the responsibility of the federal government despite the 18th Amendment. Meanwhile, relatives of the victims protested outside the PIC and demanded action against those responsible, as PPMA employees protested against their factories being sealed without waiting for the lab reports.
Arova is a drug which is used for joint diseases which needs monitoring and is known to produce liver failure and life threatening blood dyscrasias. It should not be seen in a heart hospital.As opposed to that Atorva is Atorvastatin which lowers cholesterol and is prescribed to patients with ischemic heart disease.It is possible that drugs with similar names may be dispenced by mistake. Its imperative that this angle is looked into when investigating this huge human tragedy.
Like every inquiry in Pakistan, this will end in nothing.
Fake, expired and contaminated medicines are not a new issue in Pakistan. There is an urgent need to take tough and uncompromising actions to end this death trade.
Another feather in your cap Mr Khadim Ala, I hope u had a good check up in the London hospital. Pity u never will have to go through what most Pakistanis go through.
Zardari go to Dubai for medical check up. The Sharifs go to London. That should be enough of eye opener.
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