Kozhikode: The Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (MCH) authorities are under scanner for the delay in ascertaining the presence of Nipah virus of the 12-year-old boy Hashim who died of Nipah infection at a private hospital on Sunday.
It is alleged the hospital authorities didn't send the boy's swab samples on time for the test and there were lapses in arranging a ventilator facility for him at the MCH.
Hashim was admitted to three hospitals before he was shifted to the MCH. It was on August 31 that he was admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College. There was a standing instruction that those who usually come complaining of brain fever should be tested for Nipah.
Even after 24 hours, his swab samples were not sent for testing. In the meantime, many health workers came into contact with the boy.
Moreover, the boy could not be shifted to a ventilator because of the non-availability of beds there. All the ventilators were occupied by COVID-19 patients. When his condition worsened, the relatives asked for shifting him to a private hospital and it was done at 11 a.m. on September 1.
In the discharge summary, the disease was given as brain fever. The swab samples collected from the private hospital were first tested in the Virology Institute at Alappuzha and then at the National Institute of Virology in Pune, to confirm that the boy was infected with the Nipah virus.
Taking a serious note of the issue, Health Minister said that the government would inquire why the virus was not identified in him even after enough cues from the experiences we had from the Nipah spread in 2018.
MCH authorities deny charges
The MCH authorities said that the hospital tried its best to stabilise Hashim's condition.
He came to the hospital with a headache and fever. We suspected viral fever. Suddenly, his condition worsened with brain fever and pneumonia. Viruses like Nipah show the same symptoms which the above diseases show. We can confirm the disease only when we get the results of the swab samples tested, they clarified.
We tried to shift the boy to the ventilator. All three ventilators were occupied. We agreed to shift him to a private hospital as per the demand made by the relatives. That is why we had not collected swab samples for testing, the MCH authorities further added.
