Thiruvananthapuram: Antiviral drug remdesivir, approved to treat Covid-19, was administered to patients, including those infected with Nipah virus, at Kozhikode govt medical college hospital in 2024 and 2025 from stock that expired in May 2023, health minister K Muraleedharan told the assembly on Thursday. Govt has ordered a detailed probe into the incident.Replying to a submission by Mathew Kuzhalnadan, Muraleedharan said a medical board headed by Dr Aravind Reghukumar, head of infectious diseases at govt medical college hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, would investigate whether the use of expired remdesivir had contributed to Nipah deaths or caused adverse effects in other patients.He said the directorate of medical education (DME) and the directorate of health services (DHS) had been directed to collect details of patients who received remdesivir during the period. The drug, administered through intravenous infusion, was supplied to healthcare institutions by Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL) to meet emergency treatment requirements.The medicine was last procured on June 3, 2021, through KMSCL’s Karunya division. The corporation bought 3,000 vials for Rs 42 lakh, with the stock expiring on May 30, 2023.A report from Kozhikode medical college hospital showed that 102 vials were used in 2023-24, 34 in 2024-25 and 10 in 2025-26. Another 50 vials were recorded as used in 2026-27, but Muraleedharan said these had been brought from Bahrain on June 12, 2026, to treat a Nipah patient. The records have raised concerns that expired remdesivir may have been administered to patients between 2023 and 2025.Citing the state’s Nipah figures, the minister said two of the six cases reported in 2023 were fatal. Both cases reported in 2024 resulted in deaths, while two of the three cases reported in 2025 were fatal. The sole case reported in 2026 recovered.
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