Dubai: An adverse drug reaction is suspected to have caused the death of a two-year-old boy in Sharjah instead of a "mystery illness", said the Health Ministry official in charge of investigating the case.
The toddler, a Syrian, died two days after he was admitted to Al Qasimi Hospital on October 29 with high fever and bleeding from the nose. His father and 8-year old sister, who have been discharged, were also admitted to the hospital with high fever.
Dr Abdul Gaffar Al Hawi, who is in charge of investigating the case, told Gulf News that pathologists and experts from the ministry and Department of Health and Medical Services (Dohms) were "98 per cent" sure that the boy's death was due to an adverse drug reaction.
"We believe, 98 per cent, that his death was due to drug sensitivity" based on tests done on the baby's liver biopsy, he said.
"There is some necrosis and fatty tissue in the liver, which usually indicate drug interaction. The child [probably] died from the adverse drug event, not from the illness," he said, adding that the adverse drug reaction would account for the bleeding.
He said the baby's mother, who is an X-ray specialist at the hospital, most likely gave him medicine when he first took ill. When the child started bleeding, she took him to the hospital.
Doctors are warning the public on the dangers of self-medication, following the death of the boy.
Dr Mohammad Abu Al Khair, drug consultant with Abu Dhabi General Authority for Health Services, told Gulf News that people should always seek advice from doctors, who need to run tests before prescribing any medication to anybody, especially children.
"They should avoid acting like a doctor and making decisions on behalf of kids and sharing medicine between one child and another as infants' organs may not be developed enough to metabolise the medicine," he said.
"We had a 5-year-old boy today who took 19 tablets of asthma medication. He had to be admitted to hospital and is under observation."
Dr Al Hawi, who is also assistant undersecretary for curative medicine, told Gulf News that doctors have not determined which drug was responsible. The mother is too distraught to answer questions, he said. He said they still did not know what the viral infection was, which sickened the Syrian family, as results of the blood samples sent to German laboratories were delayed.
Nurses' fever may be due to worries
Dubai Two nurses who were taken ill while caring for the sick toddler and admitted for observation at Al Qasimi Hospital have been discharged, and their illness ruled "unrelated".
A 2-year-old boy, was hospitalised for high fever and bleeding from his nose last Sunday. He died on Tuesday of a suspected adverse drug reaction.
Dr Abdul Gaffar Al Hawi, assistant undersecretary of curative medicine at the Ministry of Health, told Gulf News that the two nurses developed low-grade fevers while taking care of the toddler and were admitted to the hospital, where they remained until Friday, as a precautionary measure.
He said the doctors later ruled the nurses' fever as unrelated to the Syrian family's illness.
Dr Juma Bilal Fairuz, federal director of preventive medicine, told Gulf News that the nurses' fever was most likely a "psychosomatic response" to the intense scrutiny surrounding the family and their "mystery illness".
"They heard all the fuss about the illness, got so worried that they started showing symptoms and thought they had it too," he said.
Your comments
The Doctor should have checked with the mother and asked if she had given her son any medicine before prescribing anything for the baby! This is absurd!
Shaima
Abu Dhabi,UAE
A young child dies in a modern hospital while under medical surveillance for an unknown fever and the blame is put on the parent? Then two nurses have fever and are released rather than quarantined? I suggest all people who have had contact with this virus move in to live with the Health Ministry officials! And please lock the villa doors for two weeks.
H Aulgur
Dubai,UAE
It's a cover-up job.
Roslan
Dubai,UAE
