Kolkata: A top West Bengal doctor has criticized the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government in the state for the rapid spread of adenovirus cases among children and the lack of beds to treat them. Dr Manas Gumta, general secretary of the Association of Health Service Doctors, alleged that the West Bengal government “underreported” the number of deaths due to the virus infection. Dr Gumta said, “We have seen this earlier also during the time of Covid. The government is not completely transparent in reporting the number of deaths due to adenovirus.”
He also said that infections caused by adeno or covid are “internationally notifiable”, meaning that the government or the World Health Organization is accountable for reporting it.
Dr. Gumta also said that the preparations have been done by the West Bengal government. [to tackle its spread] are inadequate and have not learned any lesson from Covid. “The West Bengal government’s preparedness is inadequate. Earlier, due to the government’s lack of preparedness in the time of Covid, many people died, there was oxygen crisis, ambulances ran low, and medicines and critical care unit (CCU) wards everything diminished,” he said.
“Now, after Covid, adenovirus has come, and the government has still not apprised us about the preparedness, which is causing children to get infected and cause deaths,” he said.
Expressing concern, the doctor said that now the situation has become serious. He said, “All children are not getting beds in the hospital. CCU is not available to them, overall the situation has become critical now.”
“The reports of deaths that we now have [Not of the government]In this, more than 100 children have already died, which means that the situation has now become tense.
However, to contain the spread of the adenovirus, Dr. Gumta advised that COVID-appropriate behavior would be helpful in containing its spread. He said, “The precautions we took during Covid, like wearing face masks, washing hands with soap at regular intervals, avoiding crowded places, etc., are necessary to prevent adenovirus as well.”