JAIPUR : A 10-year-old boy battling blood cancer and low platelet count died Friday at the govt cancer institute in the city amid claims his death was caused by a rat bite on one of his toes two days ago.
Hospital superintendent Dr Sandeep Jasuja refuted the claim, mentioned in a media report, asserting that the death was primarily due to “septicemic shock” and “high infection”. The boy also suffered from fever and pneumonia.
The state govt has constituted a three-member probe com mittee and asked for a report in three days. Also, state medical education secretary Ambrish Kumar has sought a report from the principal of state-run SMS Medical College. The cancer institute, located in the city’s Pratap Nagar area, comes under SMS Hospital.
The report about the alleged rat bite was published Friday in a vernacular daily. It claimed the boy’s relatives found his toe bleeding and a rat running away from under his blanket when they heard his cries and went to check on him late Wednesday night. The boy died at 4am on Friday.
The probe committee formed by the govt consists of Mukesh Kumar Meena, additional director (hospital administration), Rajasthan Medical Education Society (RAJMES); Dr Rakesh Karnani, deputy director (academics); and Dr Vandana Sharma, deputy director (hospital administration), both from RAJMES.
No sign of rat bite found on patient: Dr Sandeep JasujaSuperintendent Jasuja suggested that the family’s claims might have stemmed from “suspicion”.
“It appears the mother of the boy had a suspicion that some rat had bitten him and she told the nursing staff about it. However, no signs of a rat bite were found on the patient anywhere. The patient also had skin ulcers which were dressed in a timely manner,” Jasuja told TOI.
TOI obtained acopy of a letter written by Jasuja to the principal of SMS Medical College, in which he expressed the possibility that the mother saw a rat and believed this was the reason for the boy’s bleeding.
“Those having low platelet counts have this problem of bleeding from wounds. It was evident the bleeding was due to skin ulcers, not due to biting of rat,” Jasuja wrote. Since the death was natural, the body was handed over to the family on Friday, Jasuja said.
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