Sambhal Hospital Allegedly Gives Anti-Rabies Shot To Snakebite Child

A case of alleged major negligence has come to light at the Sambhal District Hospital, where a four-year-old child from Moosapur village was reportedly bitten by a snake but was allegedly given an anti-rabies injection instead of anti-venom.

The case, reported by Rajat Malhotra, has raised serious questions about the treatment given to the child at the district hospital. According to the family, they repeatedly told the hospital staff that the child had been bitten by a snake, but the staff allegedly assumed it was a rat bite and treated him accordingly.

The child has been identified as Adeeb, the four-year-old son of Abul Hasan, a resident of Moosapur village in Sambhal. Abul Hasan said the incident took place at around 1:30 pm, when Adeeb was playing marbles in the courtyard of his house.

According to Abul, one of the marbles went into a hole in the wall. As soon as the child put his hand inside the hole to take it out, a snake bit him.

The family immediately took Adeeb to Sambhal District Hospital. Abul Hasan alleges that despite being told that it was a snake bite, the hospital staff gave his son pain medicine and an anti-rabies injection. He said the staff kept insisting that it was either a rat bite or a wasp sting.

The family says Adeeb’s condition worsened after he was given the medicine at the district hospital. After this, they admitted him to a private hospital. Doctors there treated the case as a snake bite and started treatment. The child’s condition remains critical.

Adeeb’s uncle, Tabarak Hussain, said the family had informed the hospital staff about the snake bite immediately after the registration slip was made. According to him, the staff ignored this information and gave the child an anti-rabies injection.

Tabarak Hussain said the child’s condition deteriorated after he took the medicine that had been given at the hospital. When the family reached the hospital again, he said, they were not given a satisfactory answer. Instead, the child was referred.

Only after that, the family admitted Adeeb to a private hospital. The private doctor also confirmed that it was a case of snake bite. Treatment for snake bite is now going on. The child has been in the ICU for two days.

After the matter came to light, the Chief Medical Superintendent of the District Hospital, Dr. Rajendra Saini, said an investigation was started as soon as the matter came to notice.

Dr. Saini said a three-member committee has been formed to investigate the case. The committee includes Dr. Rajesh Kumar, Dr. Sandeep Singh and Dr. Azfar Kamal. The report has been sought by Thursday.

Meanwhile, Dr. Chaman Prakash, the doctor on duty in the emergency, said he has no information at all about the child coming to the hospital.

Dr. Riyaz of Haseena Begum Hospital said, “The child is admitted in ICU. The symptoms he has are of snake bite. There is pain in the throat and stomach. There are marks of snake bite on the finger of the right hand. Anti-venom has been given to the child but there is no improvement in his condition.”