Jaipur: Three months after Rajasthan first began reporting clusters of maternal fatalities at state-run hospitals, the govt has still no explanation so far of what caused the deaths of 18 women across five districts since May.On Monday, health and medical education minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar termed the deaths a “mystery”, highlighting once again the govt’s failure to establish a cause despite multiple inquiry reports and expert investigations.“Deaths are happening in clusters… It is a type of mystery,” Khimsar said. “The reason (behind them) has not been ascertained yet. We are taking help from experts, and if needed, we will take help from outside,” he added.So far, expert committees from AIIMS, Jodhpur, SMS Medical College, Jaipur, Dr S N Medical College, Jodhpur, and S P Medical College, Bikaner, have submitted reports on the string of deaths at govt medical facilities, several of them after caesarean deliveries.The health department, however, has neither publicised the findings nor confirmed any cause of death.The 18 deaths so far have been reported from govt hospitals in Kota, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Bhilwara and Banswara districts. The latest and sharpest spike in fatalities came between July 5 and July 10, when nine women died in separate hospitals in Bhilwara and Banswara.Far from providing any clarity on what triggered the deaths, Khimsar said officials initially suspected dehydration as the cause because the first deaths were reported during summer. Fresh deaths during the monsoon, however, have weakened that explanation.“Earlier, we thought the deaths were caused by dehydration because they happened in the summer months; but now that more deaths are still being reported after the arrival of the monsoon, the cause remains to be established,” he said.While families of the women who died await answers and fresh doubts have been cast over the efficacy of some of the drugs used to treat them, Khimsar ruled out “any major problem” in the drug test reports, saying no microbial contamination had been detected.Ruling out any “immediate action” against hospital superintendents or medical college principals until confirmed causes of death are established, the minister said, “We cannot remove superintendents and principals without evidence”.Khimsar and principal secretary (Health and Medical Education), Gayatri Rathore, are scheduled to visit govt medical facilities in Bhilwara and Banswara Tuesday.
