Saturday, November 15, 2014

READING, UK: Boy dies after Zimbabwe circumcision

The Mirror (UK)
October 31, 2014

Boy aged 10 dies from infection 'caused by circumcision' during school holidays

by Marcus Chippindale
A ten-year-old schoolboy died from an infection which could have been caused by a circumcision carried out in Africa, an inquest heard today.

Stanley Chola had the procedure carried out in Zimbabwe during the school summer holidays.

Stanley Chola
Stanley Chola

But nearly two months later the youngster - from Reading - went into septic shock and died in hospital.

An inquest heard today that officials looking into Stanley's death concluded it was possible that the circumcision could have been the start of the infection.

The day before Stanley died, he was due to see a doctor about his condition but his mother failed to take him to the appointment - a decision described as a "pivotal" moment.

"If they had been able to come down I think we could have admitted him to hospital and treated him," said Dr Jeremy Lade, director of the Westcall out-of-hours GP service in Berkshire, told the inquest.

Stanley, a pupil at New Christ Church School in Reading, went with his family to Zimbabwe during the summer holidays last year and was circumcised on August 23.

However, he was absent during the first week of the new term and his step-father, Malik Issa, told a member of school staff this was because he had developed an infection from the circumcision.

On October 7 his mother, Ellen Gomes, took Stanley to the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, with her son complaining about a knee problem caused while playing football...

... {On October 14] a paramedic was scrambled to the family home at around 7.40pm after Stanley started having breathing difficulties.... .

His condition rapidly deteriorated and doctors twice performed CPR before Stanley was declared dead at 11.35pm.

Dr Lade told the inquest it was not uncommon for children with sepsis to die very quickly.

"They will walk into a ward and then suddenly pass away a short time afterwards," said Dr Lade.

It was thought the infection might also have been caused by an injury to his knee, either from being hit with a hockey stick by another pupil or while playing football.

However, a leading doctor said the two latter theories were "very unlikely" to be the case.
...


Daily Mail
October 31, 2014
... Today, a coroner delivered a narrative verdict of Stanley's death, ...

Discussing the possibility that the circumcision was the cause of Stanley's death, which is disputed by his mother, Mr Bedford said: 'That evidence is, I think, at best confusing. It is certainly not definitive. That is the less likely explanation.'

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