Thamarassery child's death: Autopsy rules out amoebic encephalitis, confirms Influenza A infection

Kozhikode: The autopsy report of the nine-year-old girl who was suspected to have died from amoebic meningoencephalitis has revealed that she was not infected with the brain-eating amoeba. Instead, viral pneumonia caused by Influenza A infection was the cause of death.

The girl’s death had made headlines after her father, Sunup, attacked a doctor at the Thamarassery Taluk Hospital with a machete on October 8, following a dispute over the cause of her death. Dr Vipin PT (34) suffered a head injury in the attack.

The child, identified as Anaya, had died in August. Following her death, Sunup and his family accused the Taluk Hospital authorities of withholding the death certificate.

According to the police, Sunup arrived at the hospital on October 8, intending to confront the superintendent. “As he was unconvinced about the cause of his daughter’s death, he may have wanted to vent his anger at someone in the hospital, and Dr Vipin became a random target,” said a police officer. Sunup is currently in judicial custody.

Sunup’s daughter was first taken to the Taluk Hospital on August 14 with high fever. She was kept under observation from morning till afternoon and later referred to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (MCH), where she passed away.

Initially, her samples tested positive for primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, but the autopsy report from Kozhikode MCH has now confirmed that she was infected with Influenza A.