TN: Female quack held as 6-year-old boy dies after injection

Virudhunagar: A 47-year-old female quack has been arrested by the police for allegedly administering an injection to a 6-year-old boy suffering from fever who died from septic shock after an abscess developed. 

The boy has been identified as Kavi Devanathan, from Malayadipatti in Rajapalayam North.

Observing that the fever was not subsiding in a few days, Devanathan's father, Maheswaran, took him to the quack, Catharine on November 4 who practises medicine at her house. Catherine administered an injection to Devanathan in the hip.

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However, his fever still did not subside so Maheswaran then took him to a private clinic on Sunday. The doctor there gave him another injection and referred him to Rajapalayam government hospital. Instead of taking Devanathan to the Rajapalayam GH, he took the boy home.

Within a few hours, Devanathan developed vomiting, collapsed, and was rushed to the Government Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. Devanathan is the second child of Maheswaran. Having lost his wife three years ago, Maheswaran raised his daughter and son on his own.

Following the death of his child, Maheswaran filed a complaint at the Rajapalayam North police station. Hearing the news, the health department formed a team of medical officers, led by the Deputy Director (Health Services), Sivakasi, and Rajapalayam Town Health Officer, Saroja to conduct an inquiry at the quack's house.

It was revealed that she was not a qualified medical practitioner but has been prescribing tablets and administering injections. A stock of syringes and medicines was also found. Later, the police arrested the accused on Monday.

The body was sent to the Virudhunagar Government Hospital for a postmortem which revealed that he suffered a septic shock after an abscess developed due to the injection.

The police told TNIE, "The boy developed hematoma after the injection by Cetharine which caused a septic shock. It takes a day or two for the patient to show symptoms and by that time it had spread to the boy's brain and intestine."

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