Amid Adenovirus scare in West Bengal, NCPCR team reaches to take stock of situation

Amid Adenovirus scare and the rising figure of death of children admitted to hospitals, a team from the National Commision for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) reached West Bengal on Thursday to assess the severity of the situation. 

As per reports, the central team is expected to meet top officials from the state health department and make a visit to hospitals from where the deaths of children with Adenovirus-type syndromes have been reported. 

The visit comes a day after West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights Sudeshna Roy and the commission's advisor Ananya Chakraborty Chatterjee visited two hospitals in Kolkata reporting child deaths and reviewed the situation.

Health experts counter Mamata's claim

Earlier this week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that 19 deaths had been reported from various districts. However, health experts and media sources from hospitals across the state claim that the death figure was much higher than what the CM said in her statement. 

The health department has issued an advisory for doctors, especially pediatricians to take special care of children who are admitted with flu-like symptoms, especially those aged two years or below since they are most vulnerable to adenovirus.

In the wake of the alarming situation, the government has canceled all the leaves of staff for an indefinite period