Chitipa girl dies over rabies disease: Health authority blamed for negligence

A 12 year old girl Joyce Msukwa in Chitipa district has died on Monday after battling with rabies disease in a short illness.

Father of the deceased, Stamy Msukwa confirmed the development, saying his daughter passed away  around 4 pm while at Chitipa hospital.

According to Msukwa, health authority started helping the child on Friday this week after Nyasa Times carried the story.

“After seeing the story on Nyasa Times, the doctors came home and took the child to the hospital. While there, the child was admitted and they suspected mengistis,” said the father.

Msukwa said that the doctors at Chitipa district hospital failed to save the life of her innocent child.

“They promised me that all will be well and that I should stop going to the media,” he said.

Nyasa Times understand that the girl was bitten by rabbed dog in April this year while chatting with friends.

The child was taken to Chitipa district hospital soon after bitten by the dog but the doctors told the father that the child was fine and that the concern the dog was Ok.

Apart from that, the doctors failed to provide drugs to the child claiming the hospital has no ant rabies drugs.

The father recently said “I was not satisfied with the doctor’s remarks and I took my child to Karonga hospital, unfortunately, they also had the same problem of no anti rabies drugs. I took the child to Chitipa hospital again for checkup but the doctors told me that the girl was fine.”

In July, Msukwa said he was surprised to see the child’s leg (which was bitten by the dog) swollen and he took her to Chitipa hospital where the doctors said it was rabies disease.

While confirming the development, some medical personnel said they already told the father about the development.

“Yes, the child has died but we already told the father that the disease is incurable. We tried our best but we did not have any choice as the hospital had no ant rabies drugs,” they said.

However, Chitipa district hospital  declined to issue a comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, Msukwa said he will take legal action against the Chitipa health officials for negligence after the burial ceremony.

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concerned citizen
concerned citizen
6 years ago

Prevention is better than cure . What happened to the government programs of preventing rabies from being rampant by; vaccinating dogs. Running Anti rabies campaigns of shooting dogs that were found roaming about. Radio programs sensitizing the public about the dangers of rabies. If it is true that there is no anti rabies vaccine in our hospitals then Government has failed its duty of proving basic medical services to it people. Knowing that rabies is incurable as soon as its signs and symptoms start to show, it is essential that every hospital should have among its stocks the anti rabies… Read more »

munthu mulala
munthu mulala
6 years ago

Rabies vaccine mukumapita naye kuti inu a zipatala?Everytime u claim kuti rabies vaccine mulibe yet Medical stores refutes your claims.Mukugula rabbies vaccine from medical stores mukumakagulitsa ku ma private hospitals.Ma reporter please take on these mbava’s osawasiya , aonetse ma records awo omwe anakagulira rabbies from medical stores and how they have used it.You will see kuti rabies vaccine wambiri does not benefit the intended patients.Mukuyika miyoyo ya anthu pachiopsezo ndi dyera lanu la ndalamalo.

bonginkosi ntuli
6 years ago

sad. may the girl’s soul rest in eternal peace.

nanyati nanyati
nanyati nanyati
6 years ago

This is TOTAL NEGLIGENCE on the part of medical personel. They should indeed be sued. They should have offered altenatives/options to the parents i.e. where antirabies vaccines could be accessed. No matter how far or expensive it would be, still it was far much better than losing a life. These inhumans and brood of vipers need stiffer punishment than even cashgaters because they pretty well know the fatal consequences of not administering post exposure prophylaxis to a rabies virus exposed individual. SHAME ON YOU!!

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