KAKINADA: A five-month-old infant, who was being treated at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in Kakinada Government General Hospital, tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday. District Medical and Health Officer Dr Satya Susheela confirmed that the infant tested positive for coronavirus.
According to doctors at the Kakinada Government General Hospital (GGH), a tribal couple from Rampachodavaram Agency brought their baby boy suffering from cough to the Rajahmundry GGH. The doctors there referred the infant to Kakinada GGH. On Wednesday last, the couple brought the infant to the Kakinada GGH and the doctors admitted the boy to the PICU for treatment.
Doctors said another infant was also given treatment at the PICU for lung infection and the baby died on Wednesday. No samples were taken from the deceased infant for test at that time. However, doctors at the PICU grew suspicious with the death of the infant with symptoms of coronavirus and reportedly asked the hospital administration to conduct test on the five-month-old boy on the same day.
The test samples of the baby came on Sunday. With the baby testing positive for COVID-19, the doctors and staff at the PICU who treated the infant without any protective gear are fearing that they too might contract the virus.
Infant contracted virus from another baby?
Though officials are yet to identify as to how the infant contracted the virus, they suspect the infant might have contracted virus from deceased baby. Meanwhile, officials said they will continue to provide treatment to the baby at the PICU itself instead of shifting him to COVID-19 ward as treatment is underway.