Swab Stick Gets Stuck in Throat of Village Sarpanch in Telangana During COVID-19 Testing

Hyderabad, June 13: In a bizarre incident, a swab stick, that is used to collect the samples to detect COVID-19 infection, got stuck in the nose and throat of a village sarpanch in Telangana. According to a report by TOI, the sarpanch in Karimnagar district had a harrowing experience and was in grave pain after a swab stick broke inside his nose. The stick with a cotton swab was later removed after the sarpanch was rushed to a hospital in Karimnagar town. 

The incident took place on Friday when the sarpanch had arranged the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) for COVID-19 at his village and decided to take the test first. Juvaji Shekar is a sarpanch of Venkataropalli village of Ramadugu Mandal in Karimnagar, said he went through hell after



the swab stick got stuck and broke inside his nose. COVID-19 Test: Saliva Can Be More Effective Than Nasopharyngeal Swabs for Coronavirus Testing, Says Study. 

The report states that the local nurse and doctor failed to remove the swab stick following which the sarpanch was taken to a private hospital where the swab stick was removed by endoscopy. Doctors stated that the swab stick had slipped from his nose and stuck in his throat. 

This incident from Telangana is one of the rarest cases that have surfaced. It must be noted that COVID-19 tests are safe and are undertaken by experts. If a person has any symptoms of coronavirus, people are advised to get themselves tested at the earliest.