As many as 220 children with suspected adenovirus infection have been taken to different state-run hospitals in East Burdwan and Bankura in last 72 hours and four deaths have been recorded in these two districts till now.
The Hooghly district health department has sounded alert on the increasing number of acute respiratory infections among children.
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As per the district health department, till day, around 130 children with acute respiratory infection have been admitted in the different hospitals of the district. The Arambagh hospital tops the list with 55 cases followed by district hospital, Chandannagar hospital, Serampore hospital and Uttarpara hospital.
State animal resources minister Swapan Debnath is the chairman of the patient’s welfare committee of the BMCH and he made a surprise visit to the hospital and instructed the hospital authority to increase 48 more beds. A new fever clinic is to be opened close to the pediatric ward, the hospital authority stated.
More than a hundred children have been prompted to the Kalna Sub-Divisional Hospital with adenovirus infection since yesterday, the hospital superintendent Dr Chandrasekhar Maity said. Dr Sanjoy Sahis, pediatrician of the hospital, said: “The children having acute breathing difficulty and fever were detected with adenovirus.”
The district CMOH of Hooghly hospital Roma Bhuiya said, there is nothing to panic since it is a seasonal viral infection. This particular adenovirus causes fever, cough and may cause respiratory distress in some severe cases. However, out of 100, 95 cases do not require hospitalization. They are curable at home. Mothers at home must maintain proper hygiene, wear masks and the affected child should be provided with enough water and semi-solid food.
In Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital, 60 infected with adenovirus have been admitted