Guntur Government Hospital says infant didn’t die of rat bite
The baby was born with exstrophy of bladder with epispadias complex
Guntur: Guntur Government Hospital superintendent T. Venugopala Rao accepted that food stuff discarded in the hospital premises was responsible for the breeding of rats. He said the rats had entered the ward through AC ducts and and bit the baby on two days.
He set up a committee headed by senior surgeon Dr G. Subbarao to inquire and submit a report on the incident within 24 hours. Dr Rao said action would be taken on the staff, including Dr Ch. Bhaskara Rao, who was on duty, based on the findings of the committee.
Dr Rao said the baby died not because of rat bites but due to congenital anomalies. The baby’s father Chavali Naga insisted that rat bites were the reason for the death.
Dr Rao said that the baby was referred from the Vijayawada Government Gospital on August 18. The baby was born with exstrophy of bladder with epispadias complex.
This refers to a problem in the development of the lower abdominal wall, bladder and urethra that results in the bladder being open and exposed to the outside of the body.
GGH doctors performed a corrective surgery and put the infant on ventilation. Later the infant was shifted to the children’s ward.
Dr Rao said that when the baby was first attacked by rats on Sunday, he ordered the baby to be placed on ventilation again. He directed the doctors to treat the baby with special care and ordered further action to prevent such incidents. Despite that, rats again attacked the baby on Wednesday.
Senior pediatrician Dr Ramesh Reddy in Niloufer Children’s Hospital in Hyderabad said: “A rat bite can’t lead to death. The child could have congenital defects which led to gangrene in the body. This also leads to death.”
