Infants die in Purulia govt hospital

Fifteen infants, admitted with various complications, have died at a government-run hospital since Friday in West Bengal's Purulia district.
Of the 15 infants mostly in the age group of 0-11 months, 10 were boys and five were girls, Superintendent of the Sadar Deben Mahato Hospital, Nilanjana Sen said today.
The superintendent said that the infants were to be brought in ambulances with oxygen from block level hospitals, but it was not always possible.
All the infants had complications like low birth weight, malnutrition, dehydration and meningitis, she said.
The infants were admitted with their mothers and were treated in general beds as the hospital's neonatal unit has only ten beds.

On an average, 15-20 infants in a serious condition are referred to the Sadar hospital from block-level ones daily, she said.