1-Year-Old Child Infected With COVID-19 Dies After Suffering Severe Diarrhea

KEY POINTS

Health officials said the child had stopped eating food
The child had developed breathing difficulties, and was intubated
It remained unclear if the child's parents were COVID-19 positive

A 1-year-old child infected with COVID-19 died after suffering from severe diarrhea and breathing difficulties, health officials in India said Sunday.

The infant had been admitted to a hospital on Jan. 15 after her health condition worsened.

According to local health officials, the child died on Jan. 21 and her test reports came positive for coronavirus a day later. Her parents had admitted her to the Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research hospital in the western state of Gujarat with a complaint of diarrhea, The Times of India reported Monday.

Health officials said the child had stopped eating food and had also developed breathing problems. However, the infant did not have any underlying health conditions before falling sick this month. It remains unclear if the child's parents were COVID positive.

“She was suffering from severe diarrhea and was not taking food. She developed breathing problems later,” a health official reportedly was quoted as saying.

The child had to be intubated as she was not taking food, VTV Gujarati reported [Google Translate showed].

“Meanwhile her family decided to take discharge against the medical advice and left the hospital on Jan. 21 and she later died,” the health official told The Times of India.

Over the past few weeks, India had seen a surge in COVID-19 cases after the Omicron variant was discovered. However, in the last 24 hours, India reported 255,874 new cases, nearly 50,000 less than the number reported the previous day. The country also reported 614 deaths.

Vaccination for the age group 15-18 began this month, with health officials saying they would soon start a vaccination drive for those above the age of 12.

Recently, it was reported a 5-day-old girl, who tested positive for COVID-19, died in a hospital. However, the child had been suffering from other health issues after birth. Authorities are investigating how the child got infected with the virus as both her parents tested negative for the virus. Health officials are testing the doctors and staff of the hospital, where the child was born.