7-month-old among 60 fresh Covid-positive patients in state
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Kolkata: A seven-month-old baby was among the 60 fresh Covid-positive cases reported in Bengal on Wednesday. The infant, possibly the youngest to get the infection in the state during this current spike, is admitted to Peerless Hospital.
Doctors said the child is doing well and does not need intensive care. Since the mother also had mild symptoms, her swab samples were tested and she tested positive as well.
With the 60 fresh cases, the total active Covid load in the state has crossed 400.
According to sources, the infant was symptomatic with a high-grade fever, sneezing, runny nose, and cough. As she was refusing any kind of feed, including breast milk, and had become increasingly irritable, the parents brought her to the hospital on Monday.
"The infant showed noticeable symptoms of an upper respiratory infection. As she refused feed for over eight hours before being brought to the hospital, dehydration set in, and there was decreased urine output," said paediatrician Sanjukta De, who is treating the infant. The upper respiratory samples were sent for confirmation of the type of viral infection via the virus panel test, which can detect 15 odd viruses, including adeno, parainfluenza, RSV, and influenza.
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"Of all the viruses, this child tested positive only for SARS-CoV-2, as the viral panel test report came negative for all other viruses," said Bhaskar Narayan Chaudhuri, microbiology head at Peerless Hospital. The hospital said that the parents of the child, who are residents of south Kolkata, do not have a travel history. However, during the history-taking process, it was noted that the domestic help had a high-grade fever a few days ago, after which the baby's mother developed a mild cough and fever.
The child is now recovering with a nebuliser, IV fluid, and other supportive care.
"In the past few days, I have come across a good number of children below one year of age with upper respiratory symptoms. But most parents did not want tests to be done. It is alright if the symptoms are mild and simple paracetamol works. But parents should avoid over-the-counter drugs in case the symptoms linger. Instead, they should consult doctors," added De.
Doctors said even if Covid-19 largely spared younger children during the pandemic only with mild symptoms, they are seeing some children needing hospitalisation during this current uptick. In fact, there have been reports of at least three other cases of children requiring hospital care in the past two weeks, including a 15-year-old boy in Peerless, a nine-month-old child at Medical College Hospital (MCH), and a two-year-old child at Malda Medical College.
While all three have been discharged from the hospital, sources in the health department said a child currently admitted at MCH has also tested positive for Covid-19. Sources in the health department said the child, however, has various health issues, and Covid was an incidental finding. The child is recovering well.
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