West Bengal: 'Don’t panic about Adenovirus,' says Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: People should not panic about the spread of a virus that is affecting people, especially children, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Thursday.

“Only two children havedied due to Adenovirus. Ten have died because of comorbidity. There is no need to panic. I have spoken with several doctors and experts and even they said there is no need to panic and in case of emergencies everyone can call on the 24*7 helpline number,” the chief minister said.

5,213 people have been affected by adenovirus

A total of 5,213 people have been affected by adenovirus, of which 12 children died because of an acute respiratory infection (ARI), according to chief secretary HK Diwedi.

The number of ARI infections appear to be higher in the current year as the seasonal surges because of adenovirus were taken over by the surges of Covid 19 virus in 2021 and 2022, according to the state secretariat Nabanna.

“The state government is prepared in all respects to deal with the current situation. There are more than 5,000 beds in 121 hospitals in the state having facilities for management of paediatric patients. There are 2,476 SNCU (sick newborn care units) beds, 654 PICU beds and 120 NICU beds across the state. The number of beds dedicated to paediatric ARI is being increased according to the situation,” said the communique.