West Bengal: 70 children admitted to Siliguri hospital with fever, respiratory problems

Around 150 children suffering from fever and respiratory problems have been admitted to the Jalpaiguri district hospital in Siliguri where most of the patients are below 5 months old.

Dr Subir Bhowmick, Head of the pediatric department of Siliguri district hospital and president, Indian Academy of Pediatrics, Siliguri branch said 70 children admitted to pediatric wards are currently undergoing treatment here.

"The condition of Siliguri district hospital is worst. There are 24 sick newborn care units in the district hospital. The number of daily patients has increased from 200 to 300 and out of those 31 have been admitting daily," he said.

Sunaina Devi, the grandmother of one of the children, said: "Her baby is suffering from cough and cold for the past few days and the medicines earlier given by the doctors did not work."

Speaking further, she said, "The recent outbreak in fever cases of Jalpaiguri triggered a concern to her. However, my baby's health is getting better from yesterday."

"We are trying to provide the service within our reach but will not be in a condition to manage a huge number of patients soon," Bhowmick said.

( With inputs from ANI )