Doctors at the main hospital in India's poorest district were battling to save the life of an eight-month-old boy suffering from "acute" malnutrition, asthma and pneumonia after his father tried to cure him by applying the juice of a wild fruit on his body. The latest incident adds to the growing list of medical emergencies among children of tribals in Odisha's Nabarangpur district caused by parents resorting to superstition, local cures and quacks to cure various ailments. Doctors at the district headquarters hospital said the son of Rama Gond, from Mahuvata village in Raighar block, was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) on Saturday night when his condition deteriorated after the juice of Bhalia, a local fruit, was applied on the boy's body. Gond's son was rushed to the community health centre in Umerkote before being shifted to the headquarters. "The infant continues to be critical and is under observation at the ICU of the special newborn care unit," said Dr Dharani Ranjan Satpathy, paediatrician at the headquarters hospital. He added that the boy was given blood transfusions after doctors found that his haemoglobin levels had dipped and that he weighed only 3.6 kg. "The infant developed high fever with cough six days ago but his father did not take it to a hospital or consult a doctor. Three days ago, he told us that he crushed a wild fruit and applied the juice on the infant's chest and stomach with a bamboo stick. The juice ended up affecting the infant's skin," said Dr Satpathy. When the condition of the infant turned serious on Saturday morning, Gond took him to the Umerkote centre. "The infant suffered from acute malnutrition and pneumonia. It was also anaemic," said Dr Satpathy. "Gond told us that he remembered his father doing the same when he was a child and that he genuinely believed it would help his son breathe better," he said. When contacted, Nabarangpur district collector Rashmita Panda said the infant was born in a hospital and fell sick a month ago after which it was admitted to the primary health centre at Hataberandi. "The infant was discharged after three days of treatment at the PHC. It was already vaccinated," said Panda. Highlighting the prevalence of superstition in the district, The Indian Express has reported on at least three cases of branding of babies with hot iron nails and bangles during the last three months. Last month, a 15-day-old baby died of septicaemia after being branded with a hot bangle piece by a quack to cure her of an abdominal ailment. The district collector said a panchayat-level awareness programme would be launched from February 28 to educate traditional healers on the harmful effects of branding infants. "We had organised one such programme six months ago. This time, we have collected the names of most of the traditional healers and will educate them for 45 days along with healthcare and anganwadi workers," said Panda.
