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Doctors link girl’s death to brain disease in east Delhi case; school punishment claim under probe
A day after Delhi government on Monday ordered an inquiry into the death of a 10-year-old girl who died at a city hospital more than a month after she was allegedly taken ill following an incident at her government school in east Delhi’s Vinod Nagar, doctors from the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) said, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), for which she was being treated, can cause “absence seizures” that may be misinterpreted by educators as a lack of response
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A day after Delhi government on Monday ordered an inquiry into the death of a 10-year-old girl who died at a city hospital more than a month after she was allegedly taken ill following an incident at her government school in east Delhi’s Vinod Nagar, doctors from the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) said, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), for which she was being treated, can cause “absence seizures” that may be misinterpreted by educators as a lack of response.
A doctor aware of the details of the girl’s diagnosis said, “In this condition, the patient may give a staring or vacant look, which can be misinterpreted as a student not responding to teachers. But internally, they are having seizures. These patients also have behavioural issues and memory loss, which we call cognitive decline. This decline is gradual and progressive.”
“Often educators can assume that the child is naughty or not interested in studies and trying to get distracted. Many times they can be confused with attention seeking disorders. However, these are all behavior issues,” the doctor added.
The girl’s family had alleged that she collapsed after being made to stand at the back of her class as punishment for forgetting to bring a book. They also alleged that the school delayed taking her to hospital.
IHBAS officials earlier told HT that the girl had been receiving treatment for SSPE for around six months following a consultation at AIIMS. The officials said SSPE is a progressive brain inflammation caused by persistent infection with the measles virus and has a mortality rate of about 95%. She passed away on August 27.
“Measles becomes reactivated, and gradually the condition of the patient deteriorates. Normally, the child will be okay till 5 years of age to 7 years of age and later starts showing symptoms. There will be initial personality change, and subsequently, the disease becomes life threatening,”a second doctor said.
Officials from IHBAS, aware of the matter, said the hospital submitted all the medical records of the child from the time of her first admission to Delhi Police on Tuesday.
The girl, who was under treatment at the hospital for a month, was brought with symptoms of myoclonic seizures, behavioural changes and fever, doctors said.
An official on condition of anonymity said, “This girl after being brought to the hospital last month, had an infection in the sputum, which was detected in the culture test. Gradually, we gave her higher antibiotics. But in the background of the disease, they don’t improve. In this situation, pneumonia is the cause of death.”
Officials said the family was informed about the child’s condition and was counselled.
IHBAS officials said the girl had been receiving treatment for SSPE for around six months following a consultation at AIIMS. Her condition deteriorated eventually and passed away on August 27.
On Monday, Delhi education minister Ashish Sood said an impartial inquiry had been ordered. Sood added that if the inquiry found negligence, dereliction of duty or any other lapse, “strict and appropriate action” would be taken.
