Calcutta Med College & Hosp cures premature baby of Covid

kolkata: In a first, a 2-month-old baby—who was born premature and weighed only 750 grams at the time of birth—was cured of Covid at Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital (CNMCH). She was suffering from various complications too.

The doctors and other staff members of the hospital put up a brave fight for the past two months. The baby was released along with her mother. The baby's weight has gone up to 1 kg 300 grams and she is out of danger now, said the hospital authorities.

Salehar Khatun, a resident of Dhulahat Amirpur area of South 24-Parganas, was admitted to CNMCH in the second week of April after which she had given birth to a baby girl on April 13. The baby was born premature as a result her lungs and some other organs did not develop properly. In the first week of May, the baby got infected with Covid when her weight was measured at 800 grams.

The baby girl had been facing respiratory distress and her oxygen saturation level dropped. She was eventually put under ventilator support and the doctors had to administer 4-5 liters of oxygen per minute. The patient was also suffering from sepsis. Dr Bhaswati Ghosal, an assistant professor of neonatology, along with her team put up the best effort to cure the patient.

City-based child specialists appreciated the doctors from CNMCH whose efforts brought back the infant from the clutches of death. "It's always difficult to save the life of an infant whose weight is low," experts said.

In September last year, a private hospital in Anandapur cured a 33-day old infant who was infected with Covid. The hospital authorities had sent the details relating to the treatment of the baby to the Health department.