Dental clinic's unsterile practices led to death of 8 in Vaniyambadi: study

The Hindu

30-05-2025

Tirupattur Collector K. Sivasoundaravalli on Friday said that a private dental clinic in Vaniyambadi town will be ordered to close down based on a status quo report filed in 2023 by the then Joint Director of Health and Joint Director of Medical and Rural Health Services (JDSS).
The Collector's action comes in the wake of a study done jointly by CMC Vellore, ICMR-NIE and Tamil Nadu Directorate of Public Health. It shows that unsterile dental practices at the clinic allegedly led to death of eight patients who got treated there in May 2023.
The study say that an unsterile surgical instrument was used to open a saline bottle at the clinic. Reuse of the bottle's contents had led to at least 10 people contracting neuro melioidosis — a bacterial infection of the brain — which allegedly led to the death of eight patients, who got treated there, the study said.
Speaking to The Hindu, Ms. Sivasoundaravalli said that a four-member health team led by V. Gnana Meenakshi, Tirupattur JDSS, inspected the facility to assess the existing condition and medical procedures followed there. Following this, the team has submitted a status quo report to the Collector.
The team included C. Illavani, senior dentist, Government Taluk Hospital (Tirupattur) and S. Sivasubramani, medical officer, Government Taluk Hospital (Vaniyambadi). 'During the inspection, they found that the dental clinic was functioning some distance away from its previous location in the town. I have directed Tirupattur SP [Shreya Gupta] to investigate the cases filed against the clinic,' said Ms. Sivasoundaravalli.
The team also found that the clinic had slightly changed its nomenclature.
'We are also verifying previous medical records and the report filed by the then JDSS, to initiate further action against the clinic,' said Ms. Gnana Meenakshi, incumbent JDSS.
In a press release, CMC Vellore said that during 2022—2023, there were frequent admissions of patients with brainstem syndrome at the hospital. Among 21 cases identified, 10 had undergone dental procedures. The dental clinic was investigated to identify the source of contamination, and the bacteria was isolated from an in-use saline bottle.
'The outbreak was controlled with 10 cases by active intervention of the district government health authorities,' the statement said.
Meanwhile, Indian Dental Association (IDA) has denied the claims made by the ICMR-led study on the deaths. 'We completely deny the claim as the private dental clinic had followed all medical norms prescribed under the law,' T. Gokulraj of IDA (Tamil Nadu), told reporters.