Adenovirus alarm: Four more child deaths reported from Kolkata

Kolkata: Four more deaths of children admitted with adenovirus-related symptoms have been reported from a Kolkata hospital since Tuesday evening.

Of the four at the B.C. Roy Children’s Hospital, sources said, two died on Tuesday evening, while the other two died between early morning and late afternoon on Wednesday.

Of the two children who died on Tuesday evening, one is 14-month-old and a resident of Rajarhat area in North 24 Parganas district, and second a 35-month- old and a resident of Ichapur in the same district.

One of the two children who reportedly died on Wednesday is a four-month-old from Baduria in North 24 Parganas district. She was admitted with fever and severe breathing problems, hospital sources said. The other child who died on Wednesday was an 11-month-old boy from Nakashipara in Nadia district. He was also admitted to the hospital with similar symptoms.

There has been no official update on the death figures on this count.

Meanwhile, questions have been raised over the absence of specialist paediatricians in the task force on adenovirus constituted by the state government.

According to consultant physician and BJP youth wing state President, Dr Indranil Khan it is quite surprising that not a single child specialist has been included in the task force on adenovirus when almost all of the victims are children. “I wonder how serious the state government is in tackling the problem. Constitution of this task force is nothing but a farce,” he said.

City- based physician Dr Archana Majumdar feels that mere constitution of a task force or a committee is not enough for such health-related problems. “What is required is improvement of hospital infrastructure on an emergency basis,” she said.