Srinagar: A day after Kashmir Observer reported that the pellet-blinded schoolgirl Insha Malik of Shopian was suffering from “deadly brain infection” due to her wounds, the Doctors Association Kashmir, released its expert opinion cautioning that retained pellets are “ticking time bombs.”
In a statement, the DAK President Dr Nisar Ul Hassan said “pellets retained in body have the potential to cause severe life-threatening infections.”
Expressing concern, Dr Hassan, who is also a noted clinician said “those riddled with pellets are at increased risk of severe infections.”
“The nature of pellet gun wounds makes them prone to infections. Infection is a major complication of pellet gun injuries. Pellets can drive bacteria deep into the wound and increase infection risk,” Dr Hassan said adding “They act as a nidus for organisms that are resistant to standard antibiotic regimens.”
“Several clinical and experimental studies have documented the frequent failure of antimicrobial agents to eradicate infections associated with pellets,” Dr Nisar cautioned.
“Once adhered to foreign body, the microorganisms change their metabolism, becoming more resistant to antibiotics and to the host defense,” he said.
“14 year old Insha is battling for life at AIIMS New Delhi as she contracted severe brain infection due to lodged in pellets,” he added.
Explaining his point, he said: “After pellet injury, intracranial infections can occur from 3 weeks in 55% of cases to 6 weeks in 90% of cases. If a pellet is lodged inside an air-filled bone, like the sinus in the face, the chances of infection are much higher.”
“In a case report, a man who had a pellet lodged in brain died of bacterial infection. In another case, a patient developed infection 7 years after he sustained multiple pellet injuries in neck.”
Teenage girl Insha Malik initially hospitalized at SMHS Hospital was subsequently shifted to AIIMS for specialized treatment. But she is understood to have contracted “deadly brain infection.”
As per her family Insha was targeted by security forces when there were no protests in her native area of Seadow in Shopian and she was near window in the first floor of her house.
