Mumbai doctors give 10-year-old Uttar Pradesh boy a breath of life

Ali Khan after the procedure. Doctors said he was in direct contact with dogs and sheep in his village which are thought to be the sources of zoonosis

As 10-year-old Ali Khan coughed non-stop, his family constantly lived under the shadow of Covid-19. Nine months on, they heaved a sigh of relief after doctors at a city hospital found that the child from Uttar Pradesh had developed a rare lung infection called zoonosis. With the right treatment, Ali has now got a breath of life, literally.

Ali was brought to Mumbai last month with breathlessness, stomach pain and constant coughing. His father Kaleem Khan lives in the city.

"We did a sonography for Ali that indicated a large cystic lesion of approximately 14cm x 12cm in the liver compressing the pancreas and kidneys. The CT Scan revealed a 15-cm lesion in the right lung that had a big cavity that was infected and about to rupture," said Dr Imran Shaikh, consultant Surgical Gastro, and GI Oncosurgery, Wockhardt Hospital, Mira Road.

Finding test results unusual, the doctors checked his medical history. "We figured out that the coughing was due to the bacteria in the infected lung cavity which was misdiagnosed as tuberculosis earlier. The cysts were formed due to zoonosis, an infectious disease that humans contract via domestic, agricultural, or wild animals," said Dr Shaikh.

Also Read: Mumbai: Doctors save COVID-19 patient from jaws of ‘cytokine storm'

The disease can be caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi and it spreads to humans through direct contact or through food, water, or the environment.

"We found that Ali was in direct contact with dogs and sheep in the village which are thought to be the sources of zoonosis. This infection travels to the intestine, liver and then lung wherein it completes its life cycle, becomes adult and mature, and is known as hydatid cyst," said Dr Shaikh.

Ali underwent a 12-hour surgery where the affected parts of his liver and lung were removed. "We had to cut around 40 per cent of his liver and around 70 per cent of right lung," said Dr Shaikh. Further delay in treatment could have damaged his liver and lung and proved fatal, he said.

The hydatid cyst is known to multiply rapidly. "In Ali's case, the cysts were increasing in size and multiplying," said the doctor. A person may have multiple cysts in the lungs and liver, he said. "In the lung, the cyst erodes the bronchus windpipe."

Hydatid cyst affects people from lower socioeconomic strata. "This disease is completely preventable as it gets transmitted from the hand which is contaminated in the stool of domestic animals. Simple good hygiene and hand cleaning can prevent this." The disease is also completely curable in case of timely diagnosis. "Sometimes diagnosis can be a problem as it mimics other benign diseases of liver and lung," said Dr Shaikh.

Ali's father Kaleem Khan is a much-relieved man today. He said he was worried because his child was in great pain due to non-stop coughing. "I feared it could be Covid-19 or TB. Even after receiving treatment in the village, he didn't get better. In the middle of the pandemic and lockdown, I decided to bring my son to Mumbai and I thank my stars that he got the right treatment. He is now leading a normal life."