A private dental clinic in Vaniyambadi, Tamil Nadu, has been shut down after failing to provide a satisfactory explanation for the deaths of eight patients in 2023. The patients died from neuromelioidosis, a rare bacterial infection that affects the brain.
The closure followed a show-cause notice issued by V. Gnana Meenakshi, Joint Director of Health and Rural Health Services. The notice was sent to the clinic’s dentist, S. Arivarasan.
Meenakshi told The New Indian Express she became aware of the issue only recently, after media coverage brought it to light. The renewed attention came after a study by CMC Vellore, ICMR-NIE, and the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Public Health was published in The Lancet medical journal.
The study revealed 21 cases of neuromelioidosis in Tamil Nadu between July 2022 and April 2023. Ten of these patients had undergone dental procedures at the Vaniyambadi clinic. Eight died within 17 days of infection.
Burkholderia pseudomallei, the bacteria that causes neuromelioidosis, was found in a saline bottle used at the clinic. The study pointed to poor hygiene practices. It noted that 500 ml saline bottles, intended for single-use, were being reused for multiple days. The bottles were opened with a non-sterile dental instrument and resealed loosely between uses.
The clinic had previously been sealed after public protests, but was allowed to reopen under a different name just a few metres away. It remains unclear how this reopening was approved. Officials from the Tamil Nadu health department and Tirupattur Collector K. Sivasoundaravalli could not be reached for comment.
The Lancet study also noted that two patients infected at the clinic survived but suffered serious consequences. One is still unidentified, and another, a woman from New Town, remains bedridden despite the infection subsiding.
The investigation highlights critical lapses in infection control and clinic oversight.
