Controversy surrounds death of nurse in Meghalaya 

Shillong, Aug 28 : The death of a nurse in Meghalaya was mired in controversy after she was administered with heavy dose of Tami flu, even as hospital authorities absolved themselves of any error in her treatment. 

Mary Lyngdoh, a staff nurse of Shillong Civil hospital, died in the isolation ward of Shillong Civil hospital after the cocktail of drugs administered by the hospital authorities and the delay in receiving the test result. 

Ms Lyngdoh was admitted to the (Shillong Civil hospital) isolation ward from August 18 on suspicion of contracting H1N1 virus. On August 19 her blood test revealed she was suffering from Typhoid and accordingly she had been treated. 

However, hospital authorities also sent her swab samples to National Institute for Cholera and Enteric Disease (NICED), Kolkata, on August 19. Two days later with her condition not improving the doctors prescribed Tami flu. 

The inadvertent dispatch of Ms Lyngdoh’s medical report from NICED, Kolkata, to a hospital in Kohima, Nagaland, by a private-run courier service further created unnecessary delay. However, swab samples of Ms Lyngdoh which reached NICED returned here on August 25 tested negative for the H1N1 virus. 

Meghalaya Minister in-charge health Mukul Sangma has been requesting from the Centre to set up a testing lab in the northeast instead of sending samples to Kolkata. 

'' Anyone can be given Tami flu. We have administered her medicines as per central government guidelines,'' Surgeon Superintendent of Shillong Civil hospital Dr A K Das told media. 

Veering off from the question when asked whether the nurse died due to overdose of Tami flu, the Surgeon Superintendent said, specialists were consulted to administer Tami flu on Ms Lyngdoh after her condition was not improving before we received the test result. 

When contacted, Dr AMR Diengdoh who allegedly prescribed to administer Tami flu on Ms Lyngdoh refused to speak but said he has sent his report to the office of Director of Health Services. 

Meghalaya so far has sent swab samples of 32 suspected cases. Six so far has tested positive; result of three samples is being awaited, while the others turned negative.