One child has been confirmed dead, while 16 others are currently admitted at Mbale Regional Referral Hospital, after medics administered epilepsy drugs to children instead of dewormers during a medical outreach at Kabwangasi Health Centre III, Butebo District on Thursday.
According to a source, the medics administered carbamazepine, an anticonvulsant used to control epileptic seizures, instead of mebendazole which is commonly used during the deworming.
The head of paediatrics at the hospital Dr. Julian Abeso, has revealed that medics are working tirelessly to save the remaining children’s lives.
“We received children from Butebo, last night we received one at about 11pm, unfortunately the child a two year old was very sick, unconscious, convulsing, unfortunately that one couldn’t make it, the baby passed on at about 2am” she said.
The secretary of the Pharmaceutical Society of Uganda (PSU), Dr. Lutoti Stephen, while conveying condolences to the deceased’s family, revealed that preliminary information indicates that this is the second similar incident in seven months, after a related incident in March 2026.
Dr Lutoti, who put the number of admitted to more than 20, said the recurrence raises serious concerns about systemic gaps in medicines management during outreaches.
“Carbamazepine is a Central Nervous System medicine with serious toxicity in children, while mebendazole is an anthelminthic. Confusion between the two points to a breakdown in storage, labelling, and pre-outreach verification. Like many districts, Butebo district has no district pharmacist and relies on Mbale” he said.
Dr Lutoti has since urged for every district to have a pharmacist supervising medicines management, with a formal hub-and- spoke model to supervise Health Centre Ills.
“Every outreach that carries medicines must have a pharmacist assisted by a pharmacy technician to conduct a mandatory double-check – Right Medicine, Right Label, Right Dose – before medicines leave the store and while in the field” he said.
He further called for the immediate line-listing of all affected children, preservation of drug samples for verification, provision of supportive care in consultation with paediatricians and pharmacists, activation of pharmacovigilance, and a full independent investigation.
