The state health department of Tamil Nadu on Saturday sent samples of the Auto Disabled Syringes (AD Syringes) used in the vaccination of children to the Central Drug Laboratory in Kolkota for testing. Earlier, after the reported vaccine related deaths of four children, the health authorities had sent samples of the vaccine administered to the children to the CRI Kasauli for testing.

Last week, the state health minister MRK Paneersalvam had described that the AD Syringes provided by the union health ministry for immunization programs were substandard and their needles had rusted. On May 9, he sent one letter to the ministry of health in this regard and sent some samples of the syringes with rusted needles.

The state health department director Dr Padmanaban clarified, "We have sent some samples of the syringes to the Central Drug Laboratory for testing. The samples were collected from the batches of syringes sent here for vaccination purpose".

On May 16, on the instruction of the Union Health Minister, an inspection team led by the DCGI Dr. Surinder Singh visited the health directorate office in Chennai and collected the samples of the syringes to check whether the needles had rusted or not. It is learnt that multiple teams of experts have visited other states to inspect whether the needles have contaminated.

According to Dr Padmanaban, 102 syringes were found rusted and his office had collected and stored them in the directorate office. He said the expiry date marked on them extended upto 2011. "All the syringes were brought here only last year. We have the yearly requirement of 1.5 crore Syringes and every three months we are getting 30 to 40 lakh", he pointed out.

The syringes were manufactured by two companies-Faridabad based Hindustan Syringes and Spain based BD (Maxwell W. Becton and Fairleigh S. Dickinson Company).

In a press conference in Chennai on Saturday, in which the Union Health Minister Dr Ambumony Ram Doss and the DCGI participated, Dr Surinder Sing said there are little chances for the syringes to become rusted and his inference was that the coatings on the syringes might have faded.

The inspection team under the DCGI has visited the Central Medical Stores and some Primary Health Centres in the state capital.