Viral claims wrong: AIIMS junks fast food link to UP teen’s death; doctors says she died of advanced intestinal TB

NEW DELHI/BIJNOR: In the days after a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Amroha died during treatment in Delhi, her death was quickly folded into an unsettling story about modern food habits, unbridled indulgence and the costs of junk food. Videos circulated, warnings followed, and a private tragedy hardened into a public lesson.Doctors at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, however, say the explanation that gained currency bore little resemblance to the medical reality. The teenager, they said, died not because of what she ate but because of advanced intestinal tuberculosis, a severe infection that had already caused multiple bowel perforations and overwhelming sepsis by the time she reached the hospital.Explaining the cause, Prof Sunil Chumber, professor and head, department of surgery at AIIMS, said the teenager was suffering from intestinal tuberculosis, an extra-pulmonary form of TB that does not affect the lungs and therefore frequently escapes early suspicion. She was initially suspected to have typhoid, he said, but surgical findings revealed tuberculosis of the intestine. Such patients develop strictures that weaken the bowel wall over time, eventually leading to perforations that can spill infection into the abdomen and bloodstream.The girl was brought nearly a day later than expected, Chumber added. "Despite resuscitative efforts, doctors were unable to revive her." Reports linking her illness to junk or fast food, he said, were "speculative". There was no scientific evidence connecting junk or fast food to intestinal tuberculosis or to the kind of presentation seen in this case. The fatal outcome, he emphasised, was driven by advanced infection and delayed referral, not lifestyle choices. The Class 11 student, youngest of three siblings, had been unwell for weeks before her condition spiralled into a medical emergency. In late Nov, she began complaining of persistent abdominal pain, severe enough for her family to admit her to a private hospital in Moradabad on Nov 30. What doctors discovered there was not immediately obvious from her symptoms alone. Surgeons operated on Dec 2, and after about 10 days, she was discharged. For her family, the discharge brought a fragile sense of relief. She could walk again, speak normally, and appeared, at least briefly, to be recovering.That improvement did not last. Her condition deteriorated again, this time more rapidly, prompting doctors to refer her to AIIMS-Delhi four days before her death. By the time she arrived, the infection had progressed beyond a single surgical complication and into systemic failure.The family's understanding of what happened in those weeks shaped the first version of the story that travelled outside their home. "My niece was a lovely and intelligent girl, but she became extremely fond of fast food. She used to eat it almost every day, and when we tried to stop her, she would insist," one of her uncles told TOI. "She had gained weight and later began complaining of continuous abdominal pain. After the operation, she recovered and was even able to walk. But her weight kept decreasing. When her condition worsened again, she was admitted to AIIMS last week." A video of him appealing to parents to stop children from eating fast food circulated widely on social media, reinforcing the belief that diet lay at the root of her illness.That belief found support locally. Dr Mohammad Idris, senior physician at Amroha CHC, said excessive consumption of street food could have devastating consequences for digestive health. "Street food, which largely consists of fast food items such as chow mein, pizza, burgers, momos and soft drinks, is harmful to human health. Prolonged and excessive consumption of these foods seriously damages the digestive system and leads to severe stomach infections, apart from obesity, diabetes and heart disease," he said.