India probes increase in infant deaths in northeast
Indian authorities are investigating an increase in the number of infant deaths in a remote northeastern state after 49 infants died at one government hospital this month, a health official said on Tuesday.
The spate of deaths of infants, ranging from newborns to 18 month olds, was worrying because the normal mortality rate at the Indira Gandhi Memorial hospital in Agartala, capital of Tripura state, is about 15 a month, he said.
"This is quite abnormal...We are really concerned about the death rate,” said Satya Ranjan Debbarma, Tripura’s health director, adding that a team of experts is trying to find out the cause for the sudden jump in the deaths.
Although the federal government has raised spending on healthcare in the last two years, many state-run hospitals remain overcrowded with dirty wards and outdated equipment.
Last year, more than 1,000 people, mostly children under 15, died of encephalitis during an outbreak in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where state-run hospitals found it difficult to cope with the sudden rush of patients.
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