Death of nine infants was reported over two days at the Malda Sadar Hospital in West Bengal's Malda district on Thursday.
While six were reported dead on Wednesday, three more deaths were reported till Thursday evening.
According to the hospital authorities, of the three infants that died during the day, one suffered from Septicaemia, another had low birth-weight and the third was an instance of an intra-uterine death (dead during delivery).
“The children that died on Wednesday had low birth-weights. They weighed 900 gm or 1,200 gm,” hospital superintendent Dr. H. Ari said.
The district authorities, however, pointed out that the children brought to the hospital were in “a bad condition.”
“The doctors tried their best to treat the infants. They were brought in a very serious condition. Most of them were malnourished,” S.K. Jhariat, district's chief medical officer of health, told The Hindu .
The district authorities were trying their best to set up a Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) in the district as soon as possible, he said.
As recently as a month ago, a large number of crib deaths were reported from the Dr. B.C. Roy Post Graduate Institute of Paediatric Sciences and the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital.
