18 infants die in two days at Kolkata hospital
A three-day old unnamed male infant, whose mother Kokilaben died after allegedly contracting Hepatitis B, is held by his aunt Sudhaben Amratbhai Raval in Dhansura, some 95 kms from Ahmedabad on February 22, 2009. Police in India arrested two doctors on homicide charges for spreading hepatitis B by injecting patients with used needles, officials said. At least 34 people have died in an outbreak of the disease in the town of Modasa in western Gujarat state, the Press Trust of India news agency said.
After 18 infants died in a Kolkata hospital over the past two days, parents and relatives stormed hospital buildings demanding an explanation and blocked the road outside with protests, the Hindustan Times reports.
Twelve infants died on Wednesday, followed by six more deaths on Thursday, according to the newspaper. They were all aged between a few days and a few months.
“All the infants were in critical condition when they were admitted. Our doctors and nurses did their best,” HT quoted hospital principal Mrinal Chatterjee as saying. Chatterjee said most of the babies were either pre-mature or suffering from septicaemia or low-birth weight problems when they were brought to the hospital.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee emphasized that the deaths were an aberration, telling reporters that West Bengal ranks fourth highest among Indian states when it comes to infant mortality rates.
In general, though India's infant mortality rate has declined, it still remains among the worst performers in the world by that parameter — despite a decade of rapid economic growth.
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