Infection in UP hospital kills 20 children in a month

At least 20 children have died in the district hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Badayun town from ''unidentified infection'' within a period of one month.

According to the sources, all the children who died had been admitted to the special newborn care unit (SNCU) of the hospital.

The doctors said that the deaths were caused by "infection" but they were unable to elaborate and said that a micro-biological survey would soon be undertaken at the hospital to identify the type of infection.

"We expect to identify the infection through a micro-biological survey... it will be conducted as soon as we get the funds," said a doctor at the district hospital.

Sources, however, said that there was an acute shortage of doctors at the SNCU. "Presently there are only two doctors to treat the children at the SNCU... we desperately doctors and paramedical staff,'' said another doctor.

Health officials here said that they had asked the hospital authorities to take every measure to prevent the deaths.

A majority of the deceased hailed from the rural areas and belonged to poor families, sources said. Many parents were now taking their children to private hospitals after reports of death of children at the district hospital.

Almost two years back, as many as 30 children, mostly newborn, had died owing to shortage of oxygen at the BRD Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur, the home town of UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, triggering widespread outrage in the country.