An Indian-origin boy’s unfortunate death has prompted the Victorian government to introduce new laws which require all hospitals to report all suspected cases of anaphylaxis to the Department of Health and Human Services.
10-year-old Ronak Warty died in Melbourne in 2013 after consuming coconut drink containing milk, bought from an Asian store.
On December 13th 2013, Warty family in Burwood had finished their dinner when Ronak had a coconut drink from a can bought from a store.
Minutes later, he couldn’t breath and started vomiting.
An ambulance was called in and paramedics treated him before he was rushed to Monash Medical Centre in Clayton.
Over the next few days, Ronak suffered complete loss of brain function and eventually his life support was withdrawn a week later on 20th December 2013.
Doctors ascribed the cause of Ronak’s death to complications of anaphylaxis.
Ronak was allergic to nuts and dairy. His family took utmost precautions about his dietary intake and Ronak too was aware about his allergies.
Greentime Natural Coconut Drink imported by a Sydney firm was recalled just over a month after the death of Melbourne boy Ronak Warty. Source: Supplied
Coroner Audrey Jamieson heard the can of Green Time Natural Coconut Drink imported from Taiwan contained an undeclared milk ingredient.
This product remained on shelves for another six weeks before being recalled as the hospital that treated Ronak did not alert the health department.
This is now set to change as the Victorian Government on Wednesday introduced a bill requiring all hospitals to report suspected cases of anaphylaxis to the Department of Health and Human Services.
"This will mean appropriate action can be taken, such as the recall of products that are not labelled correctly and could put people with allergies at risk," a spokeswoman for Health Minister Jill Hennessy said.
reports the proposed new anaphylaxis reporting laws are set to be in place by November next year.
