RAIPUR (TIP): It was not just antibiotics laced with rat poison (zinc phosphide) that was administered on victims of botched surgeries at Bilaspur health camps, local anaesthesia injected on women at the Gaurella camp in the district were laden with fungus. One woman died after tubectomy at this camp. Sources said a few batches of fungus-ridden Lignocaine injection, used as anaesthesia, were supplied by Indore-based company Kabra Drugs. Though government withdrew the stock of contaminated injections from the government hospital and health centres, officials admit these injections were used at the Gaurella camp. Health commissioner Pratap Singh said though fungus was found in 3 batches of Lignocaine, vials were removed last September.

He said the company had been blacklisted for 5 years. Pratap said Chhattisgarh Medical Services Corporation (CGMSC) had been procuring and supplying injections from the company since September, 2013, and the last batch was received earlier this month. “We do stability tests on stocks. It was a manufacturing glitch on vials, which developed spores and fungus was detected on Wednesday evening,” he said. Data available at CGMSC website show around 2.37 lakh vials (30 ml each) of Lignocaine injection from batches recalled by the government are still in stock. About 13,836 units are in the Bilaspur warehouse. This is the second instance in less than four months when drugs procured by CGMSC have been found contaminated with fungus. In July, the corporation recalled 98 batches of the intravenous fluid bottles manufactured by a Madhya Pradesh company, DJ Laboratory, after detection of fungus