2 min readThiruvananthapuramUpdated: Oct 29, 2026 07:57 PM ISTYears after the previous CPI(M)-led government in Kerala won laurels for its management of the Covid-19 and Nipah outbreaks, the Congress-led government on Thursday ordered a probe into whether the alleged use of expired batches of Remdesivir had contributed to the deaths of Nipah patients.Health Minister and senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan informed the Legislative Assembly that a medical board will be formed to look into whether “Nipah patients of 2023, 2024 and 2025 died after they were administered expired batches of Remdesivir”.The minister announced the probe while answering a submission by Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan.Muraleedharan said Remdesivir was distributed to hospitals in the state exclusively through the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL), the government agency for procuring and distributing the medicines in government-run institutions.“The last purchase of Remdesivir through KMSCL was on June 3, 2021. The cost of 3,000 vials purchased was Rs 42 lakhs. The expiry date of the Remdesivir procured on that date was May 30, 2023,” he said.The Minister said the government medical college hospital in Kozhikode reported that 102 vials of Remdesivir were used during the financial year 2023–24; 34 vials during 2024–25; 10 vials during 2025–26; and 50 vials during 2026–27. However, the 50 vials used during the financial year 2026–27 were brought from Bahrain on June 12, 2026, and administered to a Nipah patient.He said records from Kozhikode Medical College raise suspicion that expired vials of Remdesivir may have been administered to patients in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Of the six Nipah cases reported in 2023, two patients died. In 2024, both reported cases died, while two of the three cases succumbed to the deadly virus in 2025. The one case reported in 2026 has survived.Story continues below this adThe directorate of medical education (which administers medical colleges) and the directorate of health services (which runs other government hospitals) have been asked to collect details of all patients who had been administered Remdesivir, he said.Remdesivir, an antiviral drug, was prescribed for treatment during the Covid-19 pandemic in India. It is a patented drug, manufactured in India under voluntary licenses granted by Gilead Life Sciences USA to Indian pharmaceutical companies.Shaju Philip is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, where he leads the publication's co... Read More Tags:NipahNipah virus