10-year-old cancer patient bitten by rat at Jaipur Hospital dies, Probe Ordered
Medical Negligence
Rajasthan: In a tragic incident at Rajasthan's cancer hospital, where a 10-year-old boy, battling blood cancer and a critically low platelet count, passed away. While the family alleged that the boy died due to a rat bite on his toe, hospital authorities strongly denied the claim. They stated that the cause of death was septicemic shock and a severe infection linked to his ongoing cancer treatment.
The child, who had been receiving treatment for blood cancer, passed away early on Friday morning at the Hospital's cancer unit in Pratap Nagar. The child had recently been transferred from the Oncology Department to the Pediatric Department. According to the family, he was reportedly crying loudly late at night. When they lifted the blanket to check on him, they discovered a rat gnawing on his toe. The family immediately alerted the doctors, who instructed the nursing staff to dress the wound with medication and bandages.
However, hospital superintendent Dr Sandeep Jasuja dismissed the rat bite theory. As per the latest media reports, commenting on this case he told TOI, “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.”
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The boy’s medical condition had been deteriorating, and he had developed multiple skin ulcers, a common symptom among patients with low platelet counts. Dr Jasuja suggested that the bleeding seen by the family could have been linked to these ulcers rather than an animal bite. According to the news reports, he said, “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,”
In response to the situation, the state government has constituted a three-member probe committee. They had been tasked to submit a report on this matter in three days. This committee consists of Mukesh Kumar Meena, additional director of hospital administration at the Rajasthan Medical Education Society (RAJMES); Dr. Rakesh Karnani, deputy director of academics at RAJMES; and Dr. Vandana Sharma, deputy director of hospital administration at RAJMES.
Rajasthan’s medical education secretary, Ambrish Kumar, has also requested a report from the principal of SMS Medical College, the institution that oversees the Government Cancer Institute of Pratap Nagar.
