Healthcare under lens as 6 mothers die in Ballari

Bengaluru: The healthcare track record of Karnataka in 2024 was marred by six maternal deaths at the Ballari District Hospital and Vijayanagara Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS). In November, six lactating mothers died one after the other at the hospital, most of them after undergoing a caesarean section procedure. They were named Kammari Lalitha (28), Hoogar Nandini (27), Rojamma (23), Muskan (21), Komi Sumaiah (24) and T Mahalakshmi (20). The latter is said to have been anaemic and died due to blood loss.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had acted on the advice of top officials and ordered the prosecution and blacklisting of the West Bengal-based firm Paschim Banga Pharmaceuticals for allegedly providing substandard Ringer’s Lactate solution to the hospital. The solution is administered to pregnant women during operation. The Drugs Controller was also suspended. A Lokayukta probe was eventually ordered and it found that the Ringer’s Lactate solution batch produced by the company had been found to be substandard by authorities, frozen and then unfrozen and used for some reason. The Opposition BJP has been demanding the resignation of Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao for the deaths. In other news, government figures stated a whopping 30,000 cases of dengue were recorded in Karnataka in 2024.

Dengue is a disease borne by mosquitoes. Clearing stagnant water breeding spots is seen a major issue in combating the disease. Moreover, back in April, the Health Department had confirmed six cases of cholera in the state, adding that five of them were recorded in March. Cholera is often contacted by contaminated water. In September, Bengaluru had a Nipah scare. A postgraduate student of psychology who studied at a college in Soladevanahalli in Bengaluru Rural district suffered a leg injury after which he opted to travel back to his home in Thiruvali village in Wandoor block of Malappuram district last month.

Thereafter, he developed acute respiratory problems and died in a hospital in his home district on Sunday. Tests confirmed that he died due to the Nipah Virus, which is a bat-borne viral disease. Several staff members and classmates attended his funeral and were monitored by the Health Department.