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

As 10yearold Ali Khan coughed nonstop his family constantly lived under the shadow of Covid19 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 literallyAli was brought to Mumbai last month with breathlessness stomach pain and constant coughing His father Kaleem Khan lives in the cityldquoWe 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 15cm lesion in the right lung that had a big cavity that was infected and about to rupturerdquo said Dr Imran Shaikh consultant Surgical Gastro and GI Oncosurgery Wockhardt Hospital Mira RoadFinding test results unusual the doctors checked his medical history ldquoWe 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 animalsrdquo said Dr ShaikhAlso Read Mumbai Doctors save COVID19 patient from jaws of lsquocytokine stormrsquoThe disease can be caused by viruses bacteria parasites and fungi and it spreads to humans through direct contact or through food water or the environmentldquoWe 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 cystrdquo said Dr ShaikhAli underwent a 12hour surgery where the affected parts of his liver and lung were removed ldquoWe had to cut around 40 per cent of his liver and around 70 per cent of right lungrdquo said Dr Shaikh Further delay in treatment could have damaged his liver and lung and proved fatal he saidThe hydatid cyst is known to multiply rapidly ldquoIn Alirsquos case the cysts were increasing in size and multiplyingrdquo said the doctor A person may have multiple cysts in the lungs and liver he said ldquoIn the lung the cyst erodes the bronchus windpiperdquoHydatid cyst affects people from lower socioeconomic strata ldquoThis 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 thisrdquo The disease is also completely curable in case of timely diagnosis ldquoSometimes diagnosis can be a problem as it mimics other benign diseases of liver and lungrdquo said Dr ShaikhAlirsquos father Kaleem Khan is a muchrelieved man today He said he was worried because his child was in great pain due to nonstop coughing ldquoI feared it could be Covid19 or TB Even after receiving treatment in the village he didnrsquot 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 liferdquo