Kolkata: 2 more infants die of respiratory infection; adenovirus suspected

Two infants died due to respiratory infections on Sunday. Earlier, on Saturday, three children died due to the same cause, of which one was a confirmed Adenovirus case.

Kolkata: Respiratory infection has led to the death of two more infants in government hospitals in Kolkata. Doctors, however, were uncertain whether the deaths were triggered by Adenovirus or other respiratory viruses.

These deaths come soon after three children died due to respiratory infections, of which one was a confirmed case of Adenovirus on Saturday. Later, on Monday, a nine-month-old infant, a resident of Chandernagore in Hooghly, died at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital while the other infant died at the Dr B C Roy Postgraduate Institute of Paediatric Sciences.

A health official said on Tuesday that both infants were brought to the hospitals in critical conditions, suffering from high fever and severe respiratory distress. They were kept in the intensive care units but did not respond very well and finally succumbed to the infection. Initially, they were admitted to the private and district hospitals respectively but were eventually referred to the two government hospitals in Kolkata.

With referral cases from rural areas overloading the government hospitals in Kolkata, the state health department has asked the district hospitals to restrain themselves from referring their patients to the city unless the case is extremely critical. The district hospitals have been asked to utilise their existing infrastructure fully.

A doctor said that the city hospitals are recording a rise in adults and children getting admitted with influenza. The paediatric intensive care units of hospitals are getting flooded with children suffering from high fever and acute respiratory distress. "We are advising patients having low immunity to wear masks in public places and closely maintain basic hygiene," the doctor said.