Kolkata, March 5: The adenovirus menace in West Bengal seems to be assuming alarming proportions as deaths of four more children, admitted in a Kolkata hospital with its symptoms, were reported in the last six hours, taking the death toll of children to 40 in nine days.

By Sunday morning, the deaths of two children - Atifa Khatun (18 months) and Aarman Gazi (4 years) - were reported from the B.C. Roy Children's Hospital. However, by 4 p.m., four more child deaths had been reported from the same hospital, taking the number of deaths to six in the day. What Is Adenovirus? Seven Children Die of Respiratory Infection in West Bengal; Know Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and Preventive Measures of Flu-Like Illness.

Hospital sources confirmed these four deaths of children admitted to the hospital in the period between 10.30 a.m. and 4 p.m. but their identities are yet to be disclosed. All the children reported to have died in the last 13 hours were under treatment with typical adenovirus symptoms like fever, cough and breathing problems and treatment failed to result in any sign of recovery.

Already, the state Health Department has issued an advisory for doctors, especially paediatricians, to take special care of children being admitted with flu-like symptoms, especially children aged two years or below since they are most vulnerable to being affected by Adenovirus. Adenovirus in West Bengal: Seven Children Die Due to Acute Respiratory Infection in Last 24 Hours.

The common symptoms of adenovirus are flu-like including cold, fever, breathing problems, sore throat, pneumonia, and acute bronchitis. The virus can spread through skin contact, by air through coughing and sneezing, and through an infected person's stools. So far, there are no approved medicines or any specific treatment-line to treat the virus.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 05, 2023 06:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).