A toxic milk scandal in Andhra Pradesh has triggered outrage after five deaths, with 15 victims still undergoing treatment in six hospitals around Rajamundry. Thursday’s official briefing detailed the response to the February outbreak originating from Narsapuram village’s Varalakshmi Dairy.
It all surfaced when Eastern Godavari’s health officer received alerts from KIMS Hospital on February 22: patients, mostly seniors, arrived with oliguria, vomiting, pain, and acute renal failure demanding dialysis. Toxicology pointed to elevated urea and creatinine from poisoning. Pinpointing milk as the source, teams traced it to supplies for 106 homes.
Operations kicked off with supply halts, house-to-house checks by nine teams on 307 individuals from 110 families, and broader surveillance covering 957 households. Six locked homes were contacted remotely—no symptoms. 315 blood samples yielded just two irrelevant irregularities.
Treatment is grim: one ventilator patient, six dialyzing, eight on dual support. Victims include a 6-year-old and three over 70. Police arrested local vendor Adalla Ganeshwar Rao (33) on a bereaved family’s FIR, investigating supply lines. Food inspectors grabbed milk, curd, ghee, paneer, water, and vinegar from the dairy and homes, testing at advanced labs.
Animal health experts collected 41 milk and feed samples for VBRI Vijayawada. Nephrologists, epidemiologists, and forensics form rapid response units. Health and food safety chiefs monitor closely. As results pour in from IIT Tirupati and others, the focus sharpens on justice and preventing future dairy disasters in rural India.