2 Newborns Die In 2 Days After Rat Bites At Madhya Pradesh Hospital

A second newborn bitten by rats in Indore's Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital died on Wednesday afternoon. The infant, referred from Dewas, died barely a day after another baby girl from Khandwa met the same fate.

Two families -- Lakshmi's from Khandwa and Rehana's from Dewas -- had come to the state's largest government hospital seeking hope. Both left carrying only grief.

Talking to the media at Indore airport today, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav gave instructions to take strict action regarding the incident of MY Hospital and said the government will not tolerate such negligence.

Doctors insist the children did not die due to rodent bites but because of congenital complications. 

Ashok Yadav, Superintendent, MY Hospital, said: "Both the children had congenital anaemia, and were referred from outside. One weighed 1 kg and the other 1.6 kg and haemoglobin was also low. Bite marks were present on the children but they do not cause death. One died, while the other was in critical condition with an underdeveloped intestine". 

Dr. Jitendra Verma, Deputy Superintendent said: "This girl also had congenital anaemia, deformity in her hands, and had undergone an operation seven days ago. Her condition was not improving for 3-4 days, so she was put on a ventilator. The rat bite on the finger was minor. Death occurred due to congenital anaemia. This 15-day-old girl was underweight."

It does not answer the larger question: Why newborns were left vulnerable to rodents inside a neonatal intensive care unit. 

Hospital staff admitted that a large rat had been roaming the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for several days.

Besides this hospital, rats are also roaming the corridors of the adjoining Nehru Children's Hospital, Cancer Hospital, and TB Center.
The management blamed the rains and waterlogged burrows for the infestation. The truth, also, lies in open food bags brought by patient attendants, which have made the hospital a free feast for rodents.

The government has moved into damage-control mode. 

Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla said: "This is a serious matter, on which immediate action has been taken. If pest control had been done on time, rats would not be present. A fine of Rs 1 lakh has been imposed on the pest control agency and a termination notice issued. 

The nursing superintendent has been removed, two nursing officers suspended, and notice has been given to the HOD of the paediatric department."

The opposition called the response cosmetic.

State Congress chief Jeetu Patwari said: "It is not the rats who harmed the children, it is the corrupt administration. This is the real face of the BJP. If the government has a backbone, it will remove the superintendent and the health minister, not just small employees. Such big rats are eating children, while politicians are fed by corruption". 

This, he claimed, has happened not once but many times. "A man is scared when he goes to a hospital, but a rat roams fearlessly in the NICU. Neither the system nor the government pays the price. Only the innocent, who came to live, die as prey to rats," he added.

This is not the first time rodents have exposed the state of government hospitals in Madhya Pradesh. 

In 2023 alone, multiple mortuaries reported similar horrors. A 50-year-old man's body was nibbled in Bhopal's Hamidia Hospital, the nose and hands of a 70-year-old accident victim were gnawed at Vidisha District Hospital, and the eyes of two bodies were eaten at Sagar District Hospital.