An injection made directly into the eyes of diabetes patients has led to the blinding of 12, and damage to the eyesight of another 28, including the brother of PPP leader Ch Manoor Ahmad, who was among those losing his sight. One of the fears of diabetics actually materialized, because of the very means of treating it. Apart from Lahore, there have been cases in Kasur, as well as Multan and Sadiqabad. The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has already recalled the drug from the markets, and the Punjab government has appointed a five-member inquiry committee headed by a senior ophthalmologist. The possibility of the drug import being contaminated is being examined, as is that of syringes not being properly sterilized. There is also the problem of the drug being received in large vials, while small doses are needed, with the result that 70 injections are prepared from a single vial. The committee will also examine the procedures followed in administering the injections, which, being directly in the eye, are more complicated than the more common jab in the arm.
The entire episode, which is by no means over, shows that there seems to be insufficient regulation. What regulation there is, favours the pharma giants, not the patients, as greater and greater price increases are granted without any check on what is going on. The manufacturers might not be at fault, for the problem seems to be with injections distributed by one person, without complaints coming from other distributors’ goods. However, it does seem a little excessive that distribution defects are only suspected after so many people lost their eyesight. The bottom line is that the method of oversight over the medical and pharmaceutical fields itself is in need of investigation and improvement. Expertise is all very well, but a committee of doctors, eye specialists to boot, to investigate this episode, seems vaguely incestuous.
Those who have already lost their sight should not be ignored. It has been reported that three or four patients recovered their sight after being operated upon. The government should ensure that all patients who can benefit thus, are operated on, and that the operation is made free. It should not a case of the blind leading the blind, which is how so much government is run. There must be light at the end of the tunnel.
