Even as Kolkata and its adjoining districts in south Bengal reels from respiratory distress-related illnesses among toddlers, there is so far no child admitted at North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH) here with adenovirus symptoms, the facility's patient welfare committee chairman Gautam Deb has said.
Deb, who is also the Mayor of Siliguri, said that specialised facility for testing presence of adenovirus in a person's body will be operational at NBMCH within seven to 10 days. At present 36 children are admitted at NBMCH with normal cold, fever and respiratory distress, he said.
"Symptoms of adenovirus infection have not been observed in any of them," Deb said after holding a meeting with the hospital's senior doctors and administrators on Saturday. A three-month old child died at NBMCH on Friday owing to chest congestion, he said, adding that it has nothing to do with the virus.
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The adenovirus testing facility at NBMCH, after being set up, will have the capacity of testing around 50 samples per day, Deb said. He said that a tender has already been floated for buying testing kits for the virus.
