Drugs continue to remain in the market posing a threat to public health
Kerala state drug control department officials, hardly one percent of the total drug reactions in the state is being reported a year
Kochi: A state which coughs up one-fifth of the drugs sold in the country and boasts of high health indices has a poor record of reporting adverse drug reactions with the result that all sorts of drugs continue to remain in the market posing a threat to public health.
According to Kerala state drug control department officials, hardly one percent of the total drug reactions in the state is being reported a year. “Last year, 90 drug reactions were reported to the pharmaco vigilance cell set up for the purpose which now exists in eight districts. This number is very low,” said Mr M.R. Pradeep, deputy drug controller, Kerala.
“It is calculated that at least 9,000 such incidents have taken place last year considering that at least one incident happens a week in each district. Drugs can be banned only if cases are reported since drug reactions are also a cause of deaths,” he added.
The pharmaco vigilance cells are set up as per the direction of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) under the central goverment These cells are manned by the medical college pharmacology department head. The cells now exist in government medical colleges in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Thrissur; AIMS, Kochi; Amala Medical College, Thrissur and Pushpagiri Medical College, Tiruvalla.
"Though some of the hospitals record the drug reactions within their jurisdiction, they don't report this to the vigilance cell. Unless this is done, the national co-ordination centre at Ghaziabad under IPC, which co-ordinates and controls such work and advises the government on drugs, will not be able to do its work," said Mr S.S. Venkitakrishnan, IPC expert consultant.
He said that doctors, patients and relatives had the responsibility to inform the cell on drug reactions. Mr Venkitakrishnan said that Kerala remained on the bottom of the table in reporting drug reactions. "Earlier, this was zero percent. It is surprising that the state which boasts of high health indices lags in this important score," he said.
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