COVID-19 Outbreak: Breastmilk, Hygiene Help Three-Month-Old Baby Recover In UP’s Gorakhpur Without Any Medications

New Delhi: A three-month-old baby boy has recently recovered from COVID-19 and has been discharged from Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh (UP). The baby was brought to the hospital on April 12 and was discharged on Sunday (April 26). According to Dr Ganesh Kumar, Principal, BRD Medical College, the baby who is from the district Basti, got recovered with the help of a dedicated team of hospital staff and the hardwork of his mother without using medicines.

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Giving the details about the case, Dr. Kumar said that the baby got the infection from a relative, a 25-year-old-man, who had travelled from Mumbai last month was tested positive and later succumbed to the disease in early April. When the contacts of this man were traced and tested for SARS-CoV-2, the baby, his two maternal aunts were found to be positive while the rest of the family was found negative. The aunts are receiving treatment at a government hospital in Basti but the baby was taken to Gorakhpur.

Dr. Kumar said that when the baby arrived at BRD Hospital from Basti, he and his mother were tested twice for COVID-19 as a protocol. The result indicated that the mother was safe but the baby was confirmed positive. The baby had no serious complications when he arrived except for some fever, he said. Explaining about the approach that was taken during the treatment of the baby, Dr. Kumar said,

The baby had a fever for which we initially gave a paracetamol medicine and decided to boost baby’s self-immunity by feeding only breastmilk to him while giving utmost attention to hygiene and sanitation for both mother and baby. The infant recovered without any medication due to self-immunity.

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He further said that the baby and the mother were put in the same ward so that they do not feel any psychological pain of being away from each other. Therefore the major challenge for the doctors was not only to cure the baby but also to make sure that the infection does not get transmitted to the mother. Dr. Kumar asserted,

The mother was taking care of the baby in an isolation ward and she followed instructions like wearing masks and gloves while breastfeeding the baby and cleaning him. A dedicated team of nurses and cleaning staff was deployed for them as their role was much more than that of a doctor, considering the approach that we were taking. But we had made sure that one doctor examines the baby daily.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the nursing mother should follow the following tips while feeding their babies:

– Practice respiratory hygiene, including during feeding
– Use a medical mask when near your child
– Wash hands thoroughly with soap or sanitizer before and after contact with your child
– Routinely clean and disinfect any surfaces you touch

After 14 days, the tests conducted on both the mother and the baby on April 25 and April 26 respectively came negative. The mother has been advised to undertake certain precautions back at home, Dr. Kumar said.

According to Dr. Kumar BRD Hospital, which is currently treating one elderly COVID-19 patient, is the only COVID-19 hospital in the district. It has 200 beds reserved from COVID-19 patients out of the total bed of over 500. The hospital has 40 ICU (Intensive Care Unit) beds, has 20 ventilators and more than 160 healthcare staff including doctors, nurses, ward boys and cleaning staff.

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While talking about the need of referring the baby to BRD hospital, Gorakhpur instead of treating the baby in Basti itself Chief Medical Officer of Basti District, Dr. Jawahar Lal Maurya Kushwala said,

There are guidelines that children below the age of 5 and senior citizens above the age of 60 can be treated at a high-level hospital that has advanced facilities and specialised staff. That is why the baby was sent to the nearby district Gorakhpur.

Currently, in Basti, there are nine COVID-19 patients and 14 have recovered. There are two government hospitals that are treating COVID-19 patients in Basti, said Dr. Kushwala. DH Opec Hospital Kaily, a medical college has 162 beds and two ventilators and CHC Munderwa Hospital- a Community Healthcare Centre has 30 beds and no ventilator available. There are currently 281 shelter homes in Basti in which more than 19,600 people have been quarantined.

COVID-19 Outbreak In Uttar Pradesh

The total number of coronavirus cases in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday was 2,766 with 121 fresh cases, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). The total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the state stands at 50, while 802 patients have recovered and have been discharged from hospitals. The count of active cases in the state is 1,914. Five worst-hit districts with a maximum number of cases are Agra with 533 cases, Kanpur with 213 cases, Lucknow with 213 cases, Saharanpur with 190 cases and Gautam Budhha Nagar with 141 cases. The state has 198 COVID-19 hospitals including 135 government and 63 private hospitals.

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