Hummingbird News Desk
KOLKATA, 11 MARCH: In the last 24 hours, five more babies have died in two government hospitals in West Bengal due to fever, cough, and breathing distress, bringing the crib death toll to 130 since January, according to unofficial sources.
Three of the infants, aged below two years each, were brought to the Dr BC Roy Institute of Paediatric Science at Beliaghata and BC Roy Children’s Hospital from Chinsurah in Hooghly and Bongaon and Thakurnagar areas in North 24-Parganas. The infant from Chinsurah died from pneumonia-like symptoms, while the other two babies died showing similar ailments.
At the Raiganj Medical College Hospital in North Dinajpur, two more babies’ deaths were reported.
Meanwhile, a study conducted by laboratories under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Institute of Communicable Disease (NICD) has revealed that West Bengal tops among the first five adenovirus-affected states in the country, with an alarming infection rate of 38% during the past two months since January. Dr Shanta Dutta, NICD director, stated that Tamil Nadu had an 18% infection rate, followed by Kerala at 12%.
Activists of BJP’s youth and women wings have staged a demonstration in front of the Swasthya Bhaban, health department headquarters in Salt Lake, to protest against the state government’s failure to prevent crib deaths. The protest resulted in a scuffle between policemen and agitating activists, including BJP MLA Agnimitra Pal and other leaders like Dr Indranil Khan and Tanuja Chakraborty, who tried to enter the Swasthya Bhaban complex breaking barricades. Tanuja reportedly sustained minor injuries during the program.
Tags: #Adenovirus #BabiesDeath #Bengal