New Delhi: Dr. Manas Gumta, general secretary of the Association of Health Service Doctors, lashed out at the West Bengal government for allowing the adenovirus to spread to children in the state, reported news agency ANI. He claimed that the West Bengal government "underreported" the number of deaths caused by the virus.
"This we had seen earlier also during the time of Covid. The government is not fully transparent in reporting the number of deaths due to Adenovirus," Dr Gumta said, quoted ANI.
Additionally, he stated that Adeno or Covid infections are "internationally notifiable," meaning that the government or the World Health Organization are responsible for reporting them.
Dr. Gumta also stated that the West Bengal government's preparations to combat its spread are inadequate and that it has not learned from Covid.
The West Bengal government's preparations are inadequate. "The preparations by the West Bengal government are inadequate. Earlier, due to the government's lack of preparedness in times of Covid, many people died, there was an oxygen crisis, ambulances fell short, and medicines and critical care unit (CCU) ward everything ran short," he stated.
He went on to say, "Now, Adenovirus has come after Covid, and the government has still not apprised us regarding preparations which are leading to children getting infected and scores of deaths."
The doctor expressed concern and stated that the situation has escalated to a grave level.
"All the children are not getting beds in the hospital. CCU is not available to them, the overall situation has turned serious now," he said according to ANI.
"The reports of deaths that we have now [Not of the government], in that over 100 children have already died this means the situation has become tensed now," the doctor added.
He added that 30% of the 6-7 pediatric deaths displayed symptoms of the Adenovirus.
However, Dr. Gumta advised that Covid-appropriate behavior would be helpful in stopping the spread of the Adenovirus.
He stated, "The same precautions we took during Covid, like wearing face masks, washing hands with soap at regular intervals, avoiding crowded places, etc, are needed to prevent Adenovirus also."