A stock of 4.6 lakh vaccines for Japanese Encephalitis (JE) has lost potency due to a fault in maintenance of the cold chain at the Government Medical Store Depot (GMSD) in Karnal, a Health Ministry probe has revealed.

“It is now clear that the fault was with the Karnal GMSD and it happened in the last two months. A team of experts would soon visit the unit to find out what went wrong. Then we would decide on the action against the guilty,” said a senior Health Ministry official.

The team found that the stocks sent two months back to Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal was in Stage I, which indicated that the fault occurred only after the stocks were dispatched.

Following the controversy over the vaccine in the state, the Centre has decided to withdraw the supply and replace it with fresh stock. The previous stock will be used for the JE vaccination campaign instead of the routine immunisation programme.

“We will not use this supply in any case for the children in the state. The vaccine sent by the Centre was to be used under the routine immunisation programme in the most sensitive areas for JE. Thus, any reduction in the potency could be lethal for the children,” said Dr M L Khatloiya, Director General, Medical and Health, UP.

According to sources, the present stock would be replaced within next two to three days but the Centre is yet to decide on which state will eventually receive the present supply of the vaccine lying with UP.

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