Sambhal Snakebite: Child Allegedly Given Anti-Rabies Injection

Sambhal: On 21 September, a 4-year-old boy was bitten by a snake in Musapur village, Sambhal. The boy was given an anti-rabies injection instead of an anti-venom injection at Sambhal District Hospital, Uttar Pradesh.

​According to TOI, the boy, Adeeb, was playing with marbles in the courtyard of his house when he put his hand in a hole to retrieve a few of the marbles that had fallen inside. While retrieving the marbles, a snake hiding inside the hole bit Adeeb.

​The boy was immediately taken to Sambhal District Hospital, where the staff allegedly told his family that he might have been bitten by a wasp and not a snake. The family repeatedly told the staff that Adeeb was struck by a snake; however, the staff insisted that it was a wasp bite.

​Adeeb’s father, Abul Hasan, told TOI that the staff did not listen to them.

N. V. Rajiv, a herpetologist and wildlife scientist, told MedBound Times that people should not attempt to catch a snake after a bite. If possible, a photograph taken from a safe distance can be useful to doctors. However, treatment in India generally relies on clinical symptoms rather than requiring identification of the snake.

The staff at Sambhal District Hospital administered an anti-rabies injection to the boy, and they were sent home with some medicine.

​However, later that night, Adeeb’s health got worse, and he started to vomit, his eyes got swollen, and his body turned cold. After that, his family took him to a private hospital, where the doctors confirmed that he had suffered a snakebite.

Dr. Hirakjyoti Kakati, an academic researcher and former Senior Research Fellow at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), told MedBound Times that suspected snakebite victims should remain calm and as still as possible while being transported immediately to a healthcare facility. He also cautioned that early signs of envenomation can sometimes be mild or nonspecific.

In an interview with TOI, Sambhal District Hospital Medical Superintendent, Rajendra Singh, said that Adeeb was brought to the hospital when no doctor was present on the premises and a pharmacist working in the hospital had prescribed the anti-rabies injection.  

He said, “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.”​

Officials have set up a three-member panel to determine who examined the child, what hospital treatment was given, and how the alleged injection took place.

According to Amar Ujala, Adeeb’s condition had not improved while he remained under treatment at a private hospital. Doctors had administered a second dose of anti-venom, and the child had not regained proper consciousness as of Thursday evening. Doctors reportedly said the venom was affecting his entire body, making recovery difficult.

The inquiry committee also could not complete its investigation on Thursday because two of its members were assigned elsewhere. Sambhal District Hospital CMS Dr. Rajendra Saini said the committee would complete its inquiry on Friday, after which action would be decided based on its findings.

(Rh/ARC)