Amravati, February 24 (IANS). The condition of seven of the people who fell ill after drinking adulterated milk in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh, is still critical. State Health and Family Welfare Department Commissioner Veerapandian gave this information on Tuesday.
He said that a total of 15 people are undergoing treatment in various hospitals. Of these, three patients are on ventilator, two on dialysis and three on ventilator-dialysis support. The patients undergoing treatment also include two children, one of whom is a five-month-old infant.
So far four people have died. No new cases were registered on Tuesday. The Commissioner said that necessary steps are being taken to provide better treatment to all the patients admitted in the hospital.
On the advice of senior nephrologist Raviraj, some special medicines which rapidly improve kidney function, which were not available here, are being procured from Chennai and Mumbai.
According to officials, milk was delivered to homes on February 16. Since symptoms may appear late in some people, doctors have been deployed 24 hours a day in the affected areas. This arrangement will continue for the next one month.
Blood samples were taken from 315 people from 110 families who bought milk from the same vendor. Of these, two people were found to have high creatinine levels, while one had suspicious symptoms. All three have been admitted to the hospital and their condition is said to be stable at present.
Veerapandian said that till now no traces of urea have been found in the milk. Quoting experts, he said that even if urea is mixed in milk, serious problems like kidney or liver failure do not arise immediately, but long term consumption has an effect.
He also said that if ethylene glycol is mixed in milk, serious health problems can occur after three to four days.
Neelkanth Reddy, Director of the Institute of Preventive Medicine (Food Safety Department) was also present with him in the press conference. He said that police investigation has revealed that ethylene glycol, which is used as a coolant in the machine that keeps milk cold, had leaked.
About 10 samples of the remaining curd, ghee, vinegar and milk used by the affected families have been taken and sent for testing to National Food Safety Authority approved laboratories located in Hyderabad and Kakinada.
Direct samples of milk were not available, but samples of curd, cheese, ghee and cream have been taken. Reports of water samples are likely to come in a phased manner between Wednesday and Saturday. Officials hope that after these reports there will be clarity about the source of adulteration.
The seller is already in police custody and investigation is going on based on the information received from him. The use of ethylene glycol in milk storage and related aspects is also being investigated. The mechanic who repaired the milk cooling machine has also been questioned.
Neelkantha Reddy announced that a drive to collect samples from milk traders, manufacturers, storage owners and wholesalers would be launched across the state from Wednesday. During the inspection, it will also be checked whether they have the authorized license or not.
–IANS
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