Four more children die of respiratory infection, task force meets today

The remaining three children, including a seven-month-old, who hailed from Duttapukur, Haroa and Bangaon of the same district, died of pneumonia, the officials said.

The seven-month-old was first admitted to the Bangaon Hospital with fever and breathing complications and was shifted to the BC Roy Hospital where he was kept in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Meanwhile, the task force constituted by the state government will hold a meeting on Monday to discuss the adenovirus situation in the state, said health officials. The eight-member task force formed on Saturday will discuss as how many children are admitted to different hospitals in the state, how many are affected by the adenovirus and whether there is any need to upgrade infrastructure at health facilities.

The task force will also pay visit to hospitals, if required, it is learnt. It force will also monitor the work related to the control of H3N2 influenza cases and treatment of those affected.

The state government has maintained that the situation is under control.
While the government has pegged the number of child deaths due to acute respiratory infections at 19, unofficial estimates suggest the figure from January to March is nearly 120.

So far, 11,000 cases of acute respiratory infection have been recorded in the state, said State government.