Bengal: At least 5 children have died of respiratory infection in Kolkata in the last 24 hours raising fears of adenovirus in the state. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called an emergency meeting to review the situation.
However, doctors were not sure whether these fatalities could be linked to adenovirus.
The government has issued a series of directives and announced a 24x7 emergency helpline -- 1800-313444-222.
Medical college and hospitals, district and sub-divisional hospitals have been asked to run paediatric acute respiratory infection (ARI) clinics round the clock, the directive said.
"Regular training on critical care of paediatric ARI cases will be organised by authorities concerned," the directive said.
"All the five children died due to pneumonia. We are still waiting for the test report on a nine-month-old to confirm whether she died due to adenovirus," an official told PTI.
According to reports, 0-2 year old children are considered most vulnerable to the infection.
Older children are less susceptible to the virus, doctors said, maintaining that most of the cases are treatable at home.
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