Kerala Health Minister K. Muraleedharan said in the assembly that there were suspicions that Nipah patients who died at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital may have been administered expired medication. The suspicion relates to the deaths of six patients in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The minister was responding to a submission by MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan regarding concerns over the administration of expired remdesivir, procured through the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL), to patients in the state.
The minister informed the Assembly that the government had ordered a detailed investigation by a medical board headed by Dr Aravind, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases, to examine the deaths and determine whether other patients who received the medication had experienced any adverse effects. The concern centres on remdesivir, a drug used to treat illnesses such as Nipah and COVID-19.
The Kerala Medical Services Corporation last procured remdesivir on June 3, 2021. The 3,000 vials purchased at the time cost a total of ₹42 lakh. The medication had an expiry date of May 30, 2023. According to a report from Kozhikode Medical College Hospital, 102 vials of remdesivir were used in the 2023–24 financial year, 34 in 2024–25, 10 in 2025–26 and 50 in 2026–27.
Of the six Nipah cases reported in 2023, two patients died. In 2024, two of the two reported cases were fatal, while two of the three patients diagnosed in 2025 died. In contrast, the sole Nipah patient reported in 2026 recovered.
The minister said there were suspicions that the medication administered to patients in 2023, 2024 and 2025 had expired. The 50 vials used in the 2026–27 financial year, however, had been procured from Bahrain on June 12, 2026, and administered to the Nipah patient.
The government-constituted medical board will investigate whether the deaths were linked to the use of expired medication. The authorities have also been directed to obtain, through the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) and the Directorate of Health Services (DHS), details of all patients who received remdesivir under similar circumstances.
