KFD Janajagruti Okkuta, an organisation to spread awareness about the Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), has alleged that the Health and Family Welfare Department was responsible for the death of an 18-year-old girl from Hosanagar who died on January 8 due to KFD.
In a press conference in Shivamogga on Thursday, January 11, K.P. Sripal, advocate and convener of the Okkuta, said that the officers of the Health Department misled the district administration, the media, and the patient’s parents by concealing information about the blood test reports conducted at the Viral Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) in Shivamogga.
“Dr. Rajesh Suragihalli, the DHO, misled the media and the administration by stating that the first laboratory test of the blood sample showed a negative KFD infection on January 3. However, the test actually failed due to a technical error. The officer concealed the information. In the next three tests, the girl tested positive for the KFD infection. By then, a day was lost, and later she was shifted to Manipal, where she died,” Mr. Sripal said.
