SALEM: An eight-year-old girl from Veeraganur in Gangavalli died after a snakebite on August 28, with her parents alleging that she was not provided immediate medical attention at the Veeraganur primary health centre and was instead asked to shift to another hospital.
The deceased, S Seshika, a Class 3 student at a private school, was the younger child of Krishnaveni and Sekar. The family lives in a rural part of Veeraganur.
On August 28, Seshika returned from school and went outside her house to wash her feet. A few minutes later, she complained of a bite on her left foot.
“There were two bite marks on her leg and we immediately suspected it was a snakebite. When we reached the PHC around 7 pm, there was no doctor and only a staff nurse was present,” Krishnaveni said. She alleged that the child subsequently began vomiting and complained that she could not see properly.
“I repeatedly asked them to give her an injection for the snakebite before shifting her to another hospital, but they kept asking us to take her elsewhere. There was no ambulance either, so we had to urgently arrange a private one,” she said.
The family then took Seshika to Krishnapuram PHC in Perambalur, around 12 km from Veeraganur. Krishnaveni said her daughter died on the way.
Veeraganur police collected details regarding the incident, while the hospital confirmed that the child had suffered a snakebite.
“After my daughter’s death, when I went back and questioned the staff about why she was not given immediate treatment, they told me that a doctor was available only until 4 pm and after that they could not do anything,” Krishnaveni said.
Sources said Veeraganur was an additional PHC where a doctor was available only until 4 pm and a staff nurse remained on duty thereafter. “Initially, the staff was not certain what had bitten her. The nurse examined the bite marks and identified it as a suspected snakebite,” a PHC source said.
“An intravenous line was secured and the child was being attended to. However, she suddenly developed severe vomiting and showed signs of aspiration. The nurse attended to her, while the parents, seeing her condition worsen, decided to shift her to another hospital,” the source added.
A health department official said, “ASV should ordinarily be administered in a suspected snake-bite case. However, the child suddenly developed severe vomiting and signs of aspiration, and attempts were made to stabilise her before further treatment,” the official said.
The official added that a show-cause notice had been issued to the staff nurse and a probe is under way.