Bangalore: Comatose girl dies at Nimhans

 

Bangalore, 08 Aug 2013 (PTI): Chethana Mahantesh, 21, who was suffering from rabies encephalitis and was in coma for the past 26 days, died at Nimhans here on Tuesday night.

 

In early July, Chethana, a resident of Chitradurga, was celebrating her 67% score in BA. But the joy didn’t last long as the next day she went to a private nursing home complaining of mild fever and insomnia. Administered anti-psychosis drugs, she slipped into a deep coma.

 

Chethana was brought to Nimhans on July 21 and admitted to the ICU. "Due to infection in the brain, her condition worsened gradually and this led to multi-organ failure. Her blood pressure and heart beat declined gradually over the past two days," said Dr VL Satish, medical superintendent, Nimhans.

 

However, her family members insisted the cause of death was not rabies. "The lab report hasn’t mentioned her suffering from rabies. Also , there were no behavioural changes to prove she was suffering from rabies. She died due to an overdose of sedatives . We’ll fight this case legally," said her brother Nagaraj M. Her father Mahanteshappa is an agriculturist at Hirebennur near Sirigere mutt in Chitradurga district.

 

She was allegedly given a drug overdose on July 9, by a doctor in Chitradurga, soon after which she went into coma . She was treated at the Basaveshwara Medical College from July 9-11 and then taken to Manipal Hospital in Udupi being brought to Nimhans.

 

In May, Chethana had been bitten by a stray dog which had been beaten to death after it bit four others.

 

Health minister UT Khader said an inquiry by the district health officer had been initiated in Chitradurga to look into the issue. "We have to wait for that report as well as the post-mortem report," he said.

 

Chetana’s body was taken to Victoria Hospital for the post mortem on Wednesday. The preliminary report mentioned the cause of death as rabies infection.

 

Her body was taken to her home town Hirebennur, 20km from Chitradurga town, for cremation.