Via IBNLive.in.com: Nine infants dead in last 48 hrs at West Bengal government hospital. The cause of the children's deaths isn't really made clear: Did they acquire pneumonia in hospital, or arrive with it? And was it really pneumonia in all cases? Excerpt:
After Malda, infant deaths were reported from the West Bengal state-run Behrampore Hospital in Murshidabad district, where nine babies have died during the last 48 hours. Sources said they were suffering from Pneumonia.
Malda Sadar Hospital had reported 110 deaths between January 1 and January 27. The hospital's vice-principal, MA Rashid, told reporters on Saturday that of the 110 deceased, 87 were below one-year-old.
According to him, the state health department has decided to open a 70-bed separate paediatric unit in the Malda Sadar Hospital within a month to cope with the situation. Besides, the number of doctors, nurses and para-medical staff would be increased shortly, he said.
However, West Bengal Mamata Banjeree defended her government on January 19 in the case of several infants dying in Malda, blaming the media and criticising her party workers for blowing events out of proportion.
Mamata had reiterated that in eight months of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) rule, crib deaths came down by 2 per cent and said that the government will bring it down by 25 per cent.
Update: The Statesman has more details on this story, and attributes the deaths to acute respiratory illness, malnutrition, and being underweght. Most of the infants were referred to the hospital from rural districts, and the hospital evidently lacks the surge capacity to handle so many.
