KRISHNAGIRI: A five-year-old boy of Kadukanatham village died due to suspected tetanus on Thursday morning at the Government Dharmapuri Medical College Hospital (GDMCH), leading to a fiery protest by over 100 people at Anchetti in the afternoon.
The victim’s mother, C Sritha (27) of Kadukanatham village told TNIE, “My son Thishanth suffered injuries to his right thigh and to his head after a fall on March 30. We took him to the health centre in Anchetti where his wound was sutured, but his internal head injury was not treated. On Tuesday night, we took him to the health centre after he developed lockjaw, and we were referred to the Government Dharmapuri Medical College (GDMCH) where he died on Thursday morning. The health department staff said the child died of Covid-19 and we were not allowed to go near his body.”
Sritha sought action against the officials for not treating the head injuries. She also said the Anchetti upgraded health centre must be converted to a government hospital.
However, health officials said the boy was tended to and administered Tetanus-diphtheria (Td) vaccine on March 30 after the fall. District Health Officer G Ramesh Kumar told TNIE, “There was no negligence, and no head injuries to the child.
The child was admitted for observation, given antibiotics and discharged on March 31. This death is not due to Covid-19. In cases of infectious diseases such as rabies, the body should be disposed of with proper precautionary measures. That is why the family was told to bury the boy under the supervision of a health inspector.”
Further, Kumar said, “Apart from this, a death audit will be conducted at Anchetti health centre, a private hospital in Denkanikottai and GDMCH within a week. As tetanus is suspected, blood samples have been taken for testing.”