Measles Outbreak: Family blames BMC hospital staff for children's deaths

The two families in Govandi who lost three sons allegedly due to measles in October have accused the civic healthcare of negligence. They made their allegations to the central health team visiting the city to study the measles outbreak in which 617 suspected patients have been identified so far.

The central team visited various areas in Govandi, the worst-hit in the measles outbreak, and BMC-run Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar where most of the affected children from the area go for treatment.Around noon on Saturday, the team visited the homes of Sahrunissa Khan and brother, Mohammed Khan, who live next to each other in Rafiq Nagar of Govandi. Sahrunissa and husband Abdul lost their five-year-old son, Hasnain and three-year-old son Nuren while Mohammed lost his son Faizal who was 14 months old.

When the central team members told the parents it's important to take children to doctors when they develop fever, the family said they had taken the children to BMC-run Rajawadi Hospital for treatment but were shocked with the negligent attitude. "My son was given glucose at 11am after a doctor visited him at Rajawadi, and until 1am when the next doctor came, no one realised that the liquid was not trickling in. Why didn't anybody notice my son's swollen face before that," asked Abdul.

Mohammed's wife Shaheen alleged that doctors at the hospital were negligent while intubating her 14-month-old son Faizal. She said he had been labelled as malnourished although he had weighed 10kg before the infection.Asked by the team members if civic teams had dropped by for door-to-door surveys, the families said the surveys had started only after media reports on the deaths. However, a civic doctor said the grief-stricken families were making baseless allegations. "Hundreds of children have been treated at Rajawadi Hospital, no one has made similar complaints like these two families,'' said a doctor. BMC executive health officer Dr Mangala Gomare said given nutritional status of the children, the huge size of the family and the inadequate vaccines given to children underlines the real issues. BMC executive health officer Dr Mangala Gomare said given nutritional status of the children, the huge size of the family and the inadequate vaccines given to children underlines the real issues. The outbreak of measles in the country in the last few months has caused the central government to take special measures. A highly contagious disease, measles is caused by a virus that spreads easily and can be serious and fatal for children. Also called rubeola, this disease is characterised by high fever and red rashes. Mumbai has witnessed an upsurge in cases, with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare deploying a high-level multi-disciplinary team to take stock of the city.