India: Postpartum women fall sick in West Bengal Hospital after alleged injection error

Kolkata: SSeveral postpartum women at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital in East Burdwan, West Bengal, fell ill on Monday night after allegedly receiving the wrong injection. However, no casualties had been reported at the time of filing this report.

On Tuesday morning, hospital authorities claimed that all affected women were out of danger. However, confusion remains over the exact number of patients who fell sick.

While the hospital’s principal, Mousumi Bandopadhyay, reported seven cases, some family members claimed the number was at least ten.

Bandopadhyay attributed the complications to allergic reactions to the injection, though families of the affected women disputed this.

According to them, the women were in good health post-delivery but developed symptoms like fever and shivering immediately after being given three successive injections. Some speculated that the injections were either incorrect or administered on an empty stomach, leading to complications.

This incident follows a similar case at a state-run medical college in Kolkata’s West Midnapore district, where seven women fell sick after allegedly receiving expired Ringer’s Lactate. O

ne postpartum woman died in that case, while six others recovered after critical care. The state government denied allegations of expired medication and instead accused hospital doctors of negligence, suspending ten of them. Their suspensions were revoked last month.