42 children die of diseases in gov't hospital in 48 hrs in northern India

NEW DELHI - As many as 42 children have died at a government hospital in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, a top health official said Wednesday.

The deaths took place at Baba Raghav Das Medical College in Gorakhpur in the past 48 hours.

"Of the 42 deaths, seven are due to encephalitis, while the rest are due to other pediatric diseases," Dr P.K. Singh, the medical college's principal, told the media.

Some local media reports, however, said that there have been 61 child deaths at the hospital in the past 72 hours, though there has been no official confirmation.

More than 70 infant deaths were reported from the same hospital just three weeks ago, from various causes, including oxygen shortage.

The hospital, the biggest in state Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's constituency, attends to hundreds of patients from neighboring Bihar, other districts of Uttar Pradesh and even Nepal.

"The situation may worsen because of heavy rains and floods in Nepal, Bihar and large parts of Uttar Pradesh as more and more children are being brought to the hospital daily," a doctor said.