Patna, A community health centre in Bihar’s East Champaran district is facing allegations of serious medical negligence after a 65-year-old man presenting with persistent cough and chest pain was reportedly administered an anti-rabies injection instead of appropriate symptomatic treatment.
Ram Kushun Ram, a resident of Sangrampur block, visited the primary health centre at Sangrampur on or around 28 November complaining of long-standing respiratory symptoms. According to Mr Ram, the attending physician prescribed treatment for what was provisionally diagnosed as a dog bite and administered an anti-rabies vaccine on the spot.
“For a few minutes I could not believe what I was hearing. I had the shock of my life when I was told that an anti-rabies injection had been given to me during my first visit,” Mr Ram told . He added that he had clearly described his symptoms — chronic cough and chest pain — to the doctor and could only vaguely recall any mention of a possible animal bite.
A prescription dated 28 November, now widely circulating on social media, lists “dog bite” as the provisional diagnosis and bears the notation “kukur khansi” (literally “dog cough” in local dialect), a term sometimes colloquially used for severe coughing fits but which appears to have been misinterpreted.
Mr Ram returned to the health centre on 1 December still suffering from unrelieved cough and chest pain, at which point the error is said to have been discovered.
Local health officials have not yet issued an official response to the incident. The case has reignited concerns about diagnostic rigour and oversight at rural primary health facilities in Bihar, where staffing shortages and high patient loads have long been cited as systemic challenges.
An inquiry into the matter is understood to be under way.
