Date:23/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/23/stories/2008122355450700.htm

Tamil Nadu

Death of child causes flutter

Staff Reporter

KARUR: Death of a six-month-old boy near here late on Sunday, hours after being administered polio immunisation drops, caused flutters among the Health officials and the district administration.

Sundaram (38) and Kalamani (32) of Chinnakoundanur in Aravakurichi taluk were concerned after their kid Gopish developed fever some time after getting polio drops on Sunday at an anganwadi near their place. They rushed him to doctors at Chinnadarapuram and then at Aravakurichi but unfortunately the boy collapsed. That gave rise to fears in the town.

While Gopish’s parents claimed that the baby boy died after being administered polio drops, the district administration and officials from the Department of Health discounted such a theory and argued that the infant was suffering from diarrhoea over the pervious few days and that there was medical negligent on the part of the parents who were farm labourers.

After receiving the earlier inputs, Joint Director of Health and Family Welfare Ilamathy and Deputy Director of Health Services K. Sadasivam visited the house of Sundaram and conducted enquiries on Monday. Investigations revealed that inadequate and improper medication for diarrhoea was the cause of the kid’s death and not polio drops, they contended.

When asked Collector J. Umamaheswari too on Monday backed that theory and said that polio could not have been the reason behind the boy’s death. Instead he could have died due to dehydration, she said.