Andhra Student Dies After Taking Anti-Malaria Tablet, Over 50 Hospitalised

Hyderabad: A seven-year-old girl died after falling ill following the distribution of chloroquine tablets for fighting malaria in a village in Andhra Pradesh. Fifty-two others are being treated at a hospital and a local health centre.The exact cause of the child's death in the southern state's Polavaram district is under investigation.Chloroquine is an antiparasitic medication that treats malaria by increasing the levels of heme in the blood, a substance toxic to the malarial parasite. This kills the parasite and stops infection from spreading.Officials said 71 people in Polavaram's Gollaguppa village, along the interstate border with Telangana, had been given the anti-malaria tablets. Many of them started falling ill, after which the administration took 29 of them to a hospital in Telangana and 24 patients to a local health centre.Seven-year-old Madivi Jamuna, a Class 2 student, was one of the people who fell ill after taking the medicine. She died during treatment, officials said. The condition of the other patients is stable, they said."The health condition of the patients currently undergoing treatment is stable. There is no need for people to panic," District Collector Dinesh Kumar said.The district administration has deployed specialist medical teams including three paediatricians, set up a medical camp and started monitoring the patients. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has told officials to give the best possible treatment and ordered an investigation.A nine-member specialist team from Kakinada Government General Hospital has reached the village and three more teams from Vijayawada, Rajamahendravaram and Kakinada will join them.The chief minister also spoke with senior health department officials and the district collector seeking details of the circumstances, treatment being provided and the health condition of those affected.