Via Livemint.com: Gorakhpur tragedy: Most children’s deaths not due to encephalitis, hospital records show. Excerpt:
New Delhi: Most of the deaths of children at Gorakhpur’s BRD Medical College Hospital over the past five days are not due to encephalitis, the hospital’s own medical records reveal.
Over 70 children have died in just five days in the hospital in the Uttar Pradesh city and questions are being asked (and fingers pointed) about the cause of death.
The state government believes encephalitis—a long-time scourge in this part of the state—is the reason for the mounting death toll of children.
It has dismissed reports attributing some of the deaths to the temporary, but fatal, termination of liquid oxygen supplies at the hospital.
If the data available with the hospital is to be believed—Mint has a copy of the details —of the first 30 deaths that occurred on 10 and 11 August, only five were due to acute encephalitis syndrome or AES; one was due to hepatic encephalopathy, which is related to AES. The other deaths were of terminally ill newborns.
Some of them suffered from diseases such as pneumonia, sepsis, and swine flu while others were preterm babies in a critical condition. Among the 13 children who died on 12 August only one was due to AES.
“Newborn babies don’t suffer from AES. The list of deceased clearly shows that only five children died of AES and one due to hepatic encephalopathy. As per the list, all other babies were newborns who were apparently in need of expert emergency care services. Such cases are very critical and need continuous supply of ventilation,” said Dinesh Kapil, senior consultant, pediatrics, at Red Cross Hospital, New Delhi. Kapil was formerly at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
Data shows that the hospital’s record in curing patients admitted to its paediatric and intensive care units isn’t good.
In 2017 (till July), the total number of admissions to the pediatrics department was 3,878, of which 596 patients died. The figures for the neonatal intensive care unit (newborns) arouse even more concern—of the total 2,386 admissions, 931 died.
Uttar Pradesh has the worst infant mortality rate in the country of 78 (per 1,000 live births) according to the National Family Health Survey- IV (2015-16). The national average is 41.
