10-month-old recovers, discharged from hospital along with mother
› We treated him [ the infant] with antibiotics for elevated temperature... Since the baby was immunised for all other infections, it could have helped [him] get a good immunity
DR A NIRMALA , dean ESIC Hospital
CHENNAI: A ten-month-old infant, the youngest in Tamil Nadu to test positive for Covid-19 was discharged from a Coimbatore hospital on Monday, after recovering from the disease. The child acquired the infection from his 29-year-old mother who works as a doctor for the Southern Railways.
The woman was admitted in ESI Hospital, Coimbatore along with the baby, her 58-year-old mother and the family’s domestic help. The doctor tested positive after treating a 63-year-old man in a railway hospital in Erode. He had travelled along with two Thai nationals who had tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in March.
“First, the mother tested positive so we thought all other people in the family should also be tested so we admitted them and took a swab test,” the dean of the ESIC Hospital Dr A Nirmala said. “At that time, the child was found to be positive. He was allowed to be in the same room as his mother since both of them had tested positive. We closely observed both mother and child and provided counselling services to the mother as well.”
In India, the number of Covid-19 cases has been lowest among the age group of 0 to 20 years, while the maximum number of cases has been reported among those between 21 and 40 years. The casualty rate has been highest in those above 60 years, due to existing co-morbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension and other issues, according to data released by the government last week.
The team of doctors treating the 10-month-old infant knew that if the baby was immunologically competent, secondary problems would not arise. They continued to closely watch the child for other symptoms. “Meanwhile, we were treating the patient with required medicines and also giving nutritional food for baby and members of the family,” the dean said.
“We kept a close watch on the baby and treated him with antibiotics for elevated temperature. We could not put the baby on hydroxychloroquine like we did for the adults. But since the baby was immunised for all other infections, it could have helped (him) get a good immunity.”
All patients were fed a diet of porridge and fruit.
“As a baby we took a lot more care of him, he didn’t develop any abnormal symptoms. Finally ,we took the swab test for the family members. All except the doctor’s mother turned out to be negative. We discharged the doctor, the child and the maid,” Nirmala said.