5 year-old boy denied proper treatment after dog bite, dies; kin stage protest

CHIKKABALLAPUR: The parents of a five-year-old boy, who died after a dog bit him, staged a protest in front of the Hosur Primary Health Centre in Gauribidanur alleging that he was not given proper treatment.

Sameer (5) died after he was allegedly not given appropriate injection for dog bite.

The deceased has been identified as Sameer (5), son of Fairoz and Fameeda of Kotaladinne village. On October 30, the child was bitten by a dog and the parents took him to the PHC for anti-rabies injection. After five days, the child developed severe fever and was admitted to a hospital. Later, he was shifted to the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health in Bengaluru for further treatment, but he did not respond and died.

The parents and family members protested in front of the Hosur Primary Health Centre

Doctor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health informed the parents that appropriate injection was not administered for the dog bite and that it had affected the child’s health and he failed to respond to the treatment. The parents inquired about the injection at the PHC and got to know that the injection given to the child was not recorded in the records. After coming to know of this, the parents along with other family members, held a protest in front of the PHC.

Taluk Health Officer Ratnamma visited the spot and convinced the parents that action would be taken against the staff of the primary health centre.

Taluk Health Officer Ratnamma

“The dog bit him 15 days ago and the child developed high fever shortly thereafter.We got information from the Rajiv Gandhi Institute that he died due to some other infection which is not related to a dog bite. There are no symptoms of fever in case of a dog bite. The given injection was not documented in the book. We will investigate the matter and take necessary action”, said THO Ratnamma.