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Economic Times
3 days ago
- Health
- Economic Times
Patients visit Tamil Nadu dental clinic for checkup, get infected with deadly disease: 8 of 10 die
A shocking new study published in The Lancet has revealed that eight people died after getting infected with a rare and deadly brain infection called neuromelioidosis. The source of the infection? A dental clinic in Vaniyambadi town in Tamil Nadu's Tirupattur district. The outbreak happened in 2023 but was not reported by any government agency. The infection was linked to unclean dental practices, according to a joint investigation by doctors from CMC Vellore, ICMR-NIE, and Tamil Nadu's Directorate of Public Health. The study found that a surgical tool called a periosteal elevator was used to open a saline bottle, which was later loosely closed. The same bottle was reused for other patients. At least 10 people got infected, and eight of them died, making the fatality rate 80%.Dr Angel Miraclin Thirugnanakumar from CMC Vellore, the lead author of the study, said the bacteria entered through nerve pathways when the infected saline was used to clean patients' mouths. This allowed the bacteria to reach the brain testing showed that the bacteria had a gene that attacks the brain more aggressively. Neuromelioidosis is a severe infection of the brain and spinal cord caused by a bacteria called Burkholderia pseudomallei. This bacteria is usually found in contaminated soil and water in tropical include: Fever Headache Slurred speech Blurred vision In some cases, facial paralysis Between July 2022 and April 2023, researchers found 21 cases in total. Of these, 10 patients had visited the dental clinic, and 9 people died overall. Most cases were from Tirupattur district. Those who visited the clinic died faster, from symptoms to death in just 16 days, and from hospital admission to death in 9 days. In contrast, the only person who died without visiting the clinic took 56 days after symptoms started and 38 days after 9 May 2023, CMC reported the rise in cases. Four days later, Tamil Nadu health officials held a meeting with hospitals and clinics in the region. A team of doctors began investigating the before they could collect samples, the dental clinic was disinfected and shut down after public complaints. Still, scientists managed to find the bacteria in a sample from the saline bottle. Other unopened saline bottles were who did not visit the dental clinic mostly showed swelling in the salivary gland, cheeks, or lymph nodes. But those who did visit had more serious symptoms like face swelling and soft tissue infections, likely due to swallowing the contaminated saline. Dr T S Selvavinayagam, Tamil Nadu's director of public health, said the outbreak has now been contained. 'This is a reminder for all healthcare workers to follow proper infection control practices,' he added. Inputs from TOI
News18
3 days ago
- Health
- News18
1 Sline Bottle Claims 8 Lives In Tamil Nadu's Tirupattur District: Study
Last Updated: The symptoms of Neuromelioidosis include fever and headache followed by slurred speech, visual distortion and in some cases facial palsy. In a tragic incident, eight people died of neuromelioidosis — a bacterial infection of the brain — that they got from a dental clinic in Vaniyambadi town of Tamil Nadu's Tirupattur district in 2023, a study published in The Lancet has revealed. According to an investigation by a team of doctors from multiple organisations, including CMC Vellore, ICMR-NIE and Tamil Nadu Directorate of Public Health, the outbreak, which hasn't been reported by any government agency, has been linked to unsterile dental practices. The first author of the study, Dr Angel Miraclin Thirugnanakumar of the neurological sciences department at CMC, said that an unsterile surgical instrument called a periosteal elevator was used to open a saline bottle, which was then loosely resealed. The reuse of its contents by the clinic led to at least 10 people contracting the infection and eight of them dying, pegging the fatality rate at 80%. 'The rapid and high fatality may be because the bacteria in the saline travelled directly along nerve pathways when used to clean the patients' mouth during procedures, rather than through the bloodstream, a common route for such infections," the researcher concluded. Whole genome sequencing showed that the bacteria have a gene that aggressively attacks the brain. Neuromelioidosis is a severe central nervous system infection, affecting the brain and spinal cord, caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, commonly found in contaminated soil and water in tropical and subtropical areas. The symptoms of Neuromelioidosis include fever and headache followed by slurred speech, visual distortion and in some cases facial palsy. Researchers found 21 neuromelioidosis cases between July 2022 and April 2023, including 10 linked to a dental clinic, resulting in 9 deaths. The fatality rate was 9% among the 11 patients not linked to the clinic. State public health officials praised the study for aiding case identification and informing containment measures. 'We've halted the spread with corrective actions, and this serves as a reminder for healthcare providers to prioritise infection control," said Dr. TS Selvavinayagam, Director of Public Health. On May 9, 2023, CMC reported a surge in neuromelioidosis cases linked to a dental clinic. Four days later, health officials convened a meeting with local healthcare facilities. Co-author Prabu Rajkumar from the ICMR-NIE said that a team of doctors investigated the cluster to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics and identify the source of infection. 'But before doctors could visit the dental clinic to pick samples, the clinic was disinfected, the water supply was cut off, and the clinic was closed following public outcry," the authors wrote. However, scientists detected B. pseudomallei in a saline bottle sample, while unopened bottles tested negative. Further verification involved testing additional samples and conducting whole-genome sequencing. Analysis showed head and neck involvement, such as inflammation of a salivary gland (parotid gland), inner lining of cheeks (buccal mucosa), along with enlargement or swelling of one or more lymph nodes (lymphadenopathy), was common in cases not linked to the dental clinic. But patients exposed to the dental clinic's contaminated saline progressed rapidly, developing facial cellulitis and soft tissue abscesses, likely due to ingestion of the contaminated solution. First Published:
The Hindu
27-04-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme hits the mark by improving hypertension, diabetes control in T.N.
By taking healthcare directly to the people's doorsteps, Tamil Nadu's flagship scheme - 'Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam' (MTM) - has demonstrated an improvement in the management of hypertension and diabetes in the State. Among adults with hypertension, the proportion with blood pressure control rose to 17%, whereas for diabetes, the proportion with blood sugar control rose to 16.7%. This finding from Tamil Nadu STEPS (World Health Organization STEPwise approach to NCD risk factor surveillance) Survey 2023-2024, which was taken up by the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE), comes as an early indicator of MTM's reach. The scheme was rolled out in August 2021. Survey findings T. S. Selvavinayagam, director, Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said that the survey reflected community-level control among the population. 'This survey substantiates the efforts taken by the State government under MTM to achieve the Disbursement-Linked Indicators (DLI) set by the World Bank. It is a great achievement considering our population and number of years since we took up intensive efforts across the State,' he said. To evaluate the progress of initiatives in line with theProgram for Results basis, the World Bank laid down DLIs of six percentage points for improvement in the control rate of diabetes and three percentage points for hypertension. In the baseline survey (TN STEPS Survey 2019-20), the control rate was 7.3% for hypertension and 10.8% for diabetes, Archana Ramalingam, scientist-E (Medical), Division of NCD Epidemiology, ICMR-NIE, said. 'We started the second survey (TN STEPS Survey 2023-24) in November 2023 and completed it by the end of March 2024. We had 8,114 participants across the State. We found that among adults with hypertension, the proportion with blood pressure control rose to 17%. Similarly, for diabetes, the proportion with blood sugar control rose to 16.7%,' she added. Improved disease control Dr. Archana said that the survey results showed a clear improvement in terms of the proportion diagnosed, initiated for treatment and blood pressure control for hypertension. 'There was a significant improvement in the percentage of patients diagnosed with hypertension - from 32% in the baseline survey to about 47% in the second survey. In the case of diabetes, the baseline survey showed that 53% had already been diagnosed, and 44% were receiving treatment. While the second survey did not show much improvement in the percentage diagnosed due to a high baseline, the proportion with blood sugar control improved to 16.7%,' she added. Post-MTM, there has been a definite improvement in the management of hypertension and diabetes, she said. 'Improving regular medication access through Women Health Volunteers has borne results. Task-sharing interventions like MTM are bound to help in a State like TN that has invested in healthcare, and this is likely to lead to improvements in the future,' she said. Implementation concerns and way forward While task-sharing interventions have helped improve hypertension and diabetes control, she said that field visits showed that there can be significant challenges in implementing them in urban settings. 'In the rural areas, we saw greater acceptance and impact of the initiatives. However, people in the urban parts, especially cities like Chennai and Coimbatore, are still largely using private facilities for hypertension and diabetes care,' she said. With the early implementation results of the MTM showing promise, the Health department should take steps to identify the gaps in implementation and opt to continuously improve the quality of services to improve the control rate further, she stressed. Dr. Selvavinagayam said there is still a long way to go. 'We will now focus on the individual control level, which is essential for preventing any complications,' he said.
