Meerut: A four-year-old boy’s condition allegedly worsened after he was administered an anti-rabies injection at Sambhal district hospital following a snakebite. A pharmacist at the hospital has been removed from his duties pending an inquiry, officials said on Friday.
The boy, identified by his first name, Adeeb, a resident of Sambhal, was bitten by a snake on Monday while playing in the courtyard of his house. He had put his hand into a hole in a wall to retrieve a marble when the snake struck him, his family said.
The boy was taken to the district hospital, where staff allegedly insisted he had been stung by a wasp despite their repeated claims that he had suffered a snakebite. “We kept telling them that he had been bitten by a snake, but they did not listen,” Adeeb’s father, Abul Hasan, said.
The boy was administered an anti-rabies injection instead of an anti-venom and sent home with medicines, the family alleged. Later that evening, he began vomiting and his body turned cold. “We immediately took him to a private hospital, where doctors confirmed that he had suffered a snakebite,” he said.
Sambhal district hospital chief medical superintendent Rajendra Singh told TOI that Adeeb was brought to the hospital when the doctor on duty was unavailable and that a pharmacist, who is also a govt employee, had prescribed the anti-rabies injection.
“The pharmacist has been removed from all duties, while a three-member committee has written to the director general, seeking action against him. The district magistrate is also conducting an inquiry into the incident,” Singh said.
Adeeb is undergoing treatment at a private hospital and his condition is said to be stable. His family has demanded strict action against those responsible for the alleged lapse.
