An 18-year-old NEET aspirant who, along with 44 others from the same district of Jawahar Nagar, was diagnosed with Hepatic Encephalopathy, died while being treated at a private hospital in Kota on Saturday. Of the mentioned 44 students, 18 have recovered from this disease, while the others remain under treatment.
According to officials, the victim, Vaibhav Roy, may have died due to the consumption of contaminated water. Roy is said to have vomited and complained of a stomach ache. The other students have also displayed similar symptoms. Most of these students have also tested positive for Hepatitis A. Kota Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO), Jagdish Soni, has said, “Food and water quality is being checked in hostels. Students who are sick are being examined and are admitted to the hospital.”
Soni further elaborated on the details of the situation: ”As per our records, 41 students from the Allen coaching centre were diagnosed with liver ailment due to contaminated water. One of the students died while six are presently admitted to three private hospitals. The rest have recovered and been sent home. There is an Allen coaching centre in Jawahar Nagar. The water that was supplied to the institute through private tankers was infected and we found the boring, which was the source of the tanker, to be contaminated too.”
While all signs lead to the contaminated water being the cause of death of Roy, the exact cause will be confirmed through a death audit which is currently being processed. According to Dr Rajiv Sharma, the doctor who treated him, Roy was admitted to the hospital on October 5th for jaundice and a fever, which eventually led to a diagnosis of Hep A.
Hepatitis A is a dangerously contagious disease caused by the Hepatitis A virus. This virus can affect one’s liver’s ability to function and cause liver inflammation.
“Roy was admitted to the hospital on October 5 and he died of Hepatitis A later. In Hepatitis A, the infection reaches the brain, which can result in death. We collected 18 blood samples from the patients, out of which 11 had Hepatitis A and one was diagnosed with Hepatitis E. We also collected 95 water samples and it has been established that the students fell ill due to drinking contaminated water,” continued Soni.
Roy was a NEET aspirant, which caused him to join Allen coaching institute. He was originally a resident of Kaithun near Kota.
Amidst this incident, the water tankers across Kota have stopped their supply. Brij Mohan Bairwa, the additional district magistrate from Kota City, has commented: “We have stopped the private water tankers that supplied water to the coaching institute after the samples had failed tests. The contamination was found in water from the Balaji Nagar area. We have also changed the RO that was installed. We have also directed the CMHO to check if there are other sick students from the area”
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