ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Health Minister Dr. Nadeem Jan on Sunday said that upon receiving information from an affected patient regarding the adverse reaction of Injection Avastin, immediate action was taken to recall the medicine from the market.
Dr. Nadeem Jan said that he has also contacted the Caretaker Health Minister Punjab Dr. Akram Javed on the issue.
The Minister made these remarks after holding a meeting with the Provincial Minister of Primary and Secondary Healthcare Punjab Dr. Jamal Nasir.
Dr. Nadeem Jan said that FIRs have been registered against two suppliers of the injection and a five-member committee of senior doctors and experts has been constituted with the task to investigate the matter from all angles and submit a report within three days.
The minister said that he was in constant touch with the Punjab government and will not rest till the matter is thoroughly investigated and action taken against those responsible.
He said that the affected patients will be looked after and all possible facilities will be provided to them.
Health Minister Discuss Dengue
Dr. Nadeem Jan said that he also discussed the dengue situation with Punjab Health Minister.
He said that the situation is being managed well by Punjab health authorities. In the province, 3500 cases have been recorded so far this year whereas in the same period last year, the number of cases was 10,000. No death has been shared so far.
The minister said that dengue cases normally start showing a downward trend after October 15 so we need to sustain the control steps for another three to four weeks with the same zeal and focus.
On availability of medicines, he said that at the moment there was no scarcity of essential medicines in Punjab and adequate stocks were available.
The government was committed to bringing tangible improvement in the health sector, he added.
It is to be noted that diabetic patients in Lahore, Kasur, Sadiqabad, and Jhang districts were administered Avastin injections to address retinal damage. However, these injections led to severe infections, leading to the loss of eyesight of approximately twelve patients.
Prof Asad Islam, Mayo Hospital’s head surgeon, also raised concerns and wrote a letter to the health department. He said that numerous patients who received Bevacizumab injections suffered from blinding eye infections in Lahore and other districts of Punjab.
The infection was attributed to unsterilized injections, and Prof Aslam stressed the need for serious attention to prevent such unfortunate incidents in the future.
