The investigation will also examine whether other patients who received the antiviral medication experienced adverse effects. The decision follows concerns that Remdesivir stocks purchased in 2021 continued to be administered at Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital after their expiry in May 2023.
Responding to a submission by Mathew Kuzhalnadan, MLA, Muraleedharan acknowledged discrepancies in hospital records concerning the administration of the drug during 2023, 2024 and 2025. He said the available information raised suspicions that expired medication had been administered to patients, including those undergoing treatment for Nipah infection.
The proposed medical board will function under the leadership of Dr Aravind, head of the Infectious Diseases Department. Its principal responsibility will be to examine the circumstances surrounding Nipah fatalities and assess whether the administration of medication beyond its expiry date had any bearing on treatment outcomes.
The minister’s disclosure does not establish that expired Remdesivir caused any death. Determining whether the medication contributed to fatalities will require an examination of individual medical records, treatment histories and the clinical circumstances surrounding each case.
According to information presented before the Assembly, the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL) purchased 3,000 vials of Remdesivir on June 3, 2021, at a total cost of ₹42 lakh. The consignment carried an expiry date of May 30, 2023.
Records furnished by Kozhikode Medical College Hospital showed that 102 vials were administered during the 2023-24 financial year, followed by 34 vials in 2024-25 and another 10 vials during 2025-26.
These figures have prompted questions about whether medicines from the original consignment remained available for clinical use after their stipulated expiry date. The investigation will need to establish the precise batches administered and whether individual patients received medication from expired stocks.
Muraleedharan said instructions had been issued through the Directorate of Medical Education and the Directorate of Health Services to collect information concerning all patients who received Remdesivir under similar circumstances.
The exercise is intended to identify the recipients, examine their treatment records and determine whether any adverse reactions were documented following administration of the medication.
The inquiry assumes significance because Nipah infection can cause severe neurological and respiratory complications, making it necessary to distinguish deaths attributable to the disease from any possible consequences of treatment.
The minister provided figures showing that six Nipah infections were recorded in Keralam during 2023, with two fatalities. Both patients diagnosed during 2024 died, while two of the three patients identified in 2025 succumbed to the infection.
These figures account for six deaths across the three years under examination. However, the government has not established that all six patients received expired Remdesivir or that the medicine contributed to their deaths.
The state recorded one Nipah case during 2026, and that patient recovered. Muraleedharan clarified that 50 vials of Remdesivir administered during the 2026-27 financial year had been obtained separately from Bahrain on June 12, 2026, for the treatment of the patient.
The distinction is important because the Bahrain consignment was separate from the medicines purchased through KMSCL in 2021, which form the basis of the concerns raised in the Assembly.
The minister explained that Remdesivir had been distributed to healthcare institutions through KMSCL as part of arrangements for emergency treatment and life-saving interventions. The medicine had been procured through the corporation’s Karunya mechanism.
He said Remdesivir was categorised as an essential medicine and treated as a no-bid procurement item, with purchases made through Karunya.
The disclosures also place attention on procedures governing medicine inventories at government hospitals, particularly the recording of expiry dates and the identification of stocks before administration.
The proposed examination of patient records will be separate from the question of how medicines remained available beyond their expiry date. Hospital documentation and procurement records will be central to establishing the sequence of events.
Kuzhalnadan raised the matter through an Assembly submission seeking clarification over apprehensions about the use of expired Remdesivir. Muraleedharan’s response included the procurement details, hospital consumption figures and directions for collecting information from other patients who had received the drug.
(The article ‘Medical board to probe Nipah deaths’ appeared first on Free Press Journal.)
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