JOIN USTamil Nadu's youngest COVID-19 patient, 10-month-old baby, his mother recover
Tamil Nadu’s youngest Covid-19 patient, a 10-month-old baby boy, and her doctor-mother were discharged from a government hospital in Coimbatore on Monday evening after recovery.
Recover of the baby and his mother of Coronavirus was seen as a challenge for the doctors due to the tender age of the former. The discharge of the baby boy-mother duo within 14 days of their admission to the hospital will light up hopes of recovery from Covid-19 amid the gloom.
The mother, a 29-year-old doctor with the Southern Railways, the baby, his grandmother, and their housemaid tested positive for Covid-19 on March 29. The doctor contracted the virus from a 63-year-old man, a contact of the two Thai nationals who are being treated for Covid-19 infection after she treated him at the Railway Hospital in Erode in the third week of March.
All four and a 25-year-old woman student from Coimbatore left the ESIC Hospital on Monday after recovery. This takes the number of people discharged from hospitals in Tamil Nadu after recovery from Covid-19 to 13.
“The mother herself is a doctor and the monitoring mechanism was very tight when it came to the baby because of the tender age. We took special care to monitor every movement of the baby and check his symptoms constantly. We are happy we could cure the baby and his mother in a short time,” Dr. A Nirmala, Dean of the ESIC Hospital, told DH.
Covid-19 patients are discharged after they test negative in two consecutive tests but are advised to quarantine themselves at home for another 14 days. Children develop immunity power only as they grow in age and treating a baby as young as 10-month-old for Covid-19 was quite challenging.
Talking about the treatment, the dean said the doctors took special care in providing nutrition supplements to the baby and his mother as diet plays an important role in recovery. Also, the baby was given antibiotic treatment since hydroxychloroquine, which is considered helpful in treating Covid-19 patients, cannot be given to toddlers.
“We also concentrated on nutrition supplement to the baby, besides the treatment. The supplement was necessary given the age of the baby and we are glad they recovered,” Dr Nirmala added.
Though discharged from hospital, the 29-year-old mother and her 10-month-old son will be home quarantined for 14 days as per the standard protocol to be followed by all Covid-19 patients. The young doctor is the first medical professional in Tamil Nadu to have contracted Covid-19 while on duty.