A doctor abruptly died in Assam on March 29, Sunday afternoon. Forty-four-year-old Utpaljit Barman, an anaesthesiologist at a private hospi...
A doctor abruptly died in Assam on March 29, Sunday afternoon. Forty-four-year-old Utpaljit Barman, an anaesthesiologist at a private hospital in Guwahati, had consumed a 400-milligram dose of hydroxychloroquine about a week ago, his colleagues said.
Hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, has been recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research as preventive medicine for individuals at high risk of contracting Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. This includes “asymptomatic healthcare workers involved in the care of suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19” and “asymptomatic household contacts of laboratory confirmed cases”, guidelines released by the ICMR on March 22 said.
There were no Covid-19 patients admitted to the Guwahati hospital where Barman worked. It is unclear what prompted him to take the drug.
An ominous message
At 1.04 pm on Sunday afternoon, Barman sent a message to a group of his colleagues over WhatsApp. “HCQS is not very good as prophylaxis,” he wrote. “Lots of issues. I think I am having some problems after taking it.”
Less than two hours later, Barman’s wife, a trained nurse, called one of his colleagues, Anudhriti Dutta. She said Barman appeared to have suffered a heart attack.
As word spread, several of Barman’s colleagues reached his home within minutes. They summoned an ambulance to ferry him to...
