COVID-infected newborn recovers fully after 10 days on ventilator in Bhubaneshwar

A newborn infant in Odisha's Bhubaneshwar recovered fully from COVID-19 infection after a tough 10-day battle for life on a ventilator, becoming one of the youngest survivors in the country. According to Dr Arjit Mohapatra, the neonatologist who treated the infant said she was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday after a three-week-long battle with the deadly disease.

"A 25-days-old baby named Gudia was referred from Kalahandi district with fever, poor feeding, seizures and severe respiratory distress. The baby was admitted to isolation ICU and put on ventilator as she had features of multiorgan failure," the doctor said.

He said the infant was admitted to the hospital after both her parents and other family members tested positive for COVID-19 infection and were admitted to another private hospital. "Doctors conducted the RT-PCR test on baby and she was found COVID-19 positive. During the treatment, the doctors gave the baby Remdesivir, steroids and other antibiotics. After three weeks (first 10 days were on a ventilator) the baby started showing positive signs, and doctors again conducted an RT-PCR test and she tested negative. The baby was discharged on Wednesday in healthy condition," Dr Mohapatra added.

Odisha is one of the worst affected states by coronavirus infection currently. The state reported 12,390 new COVID-19 cases, 8,665 recoveries and 22 deaths on Friday. Currently, there are 1,04,016 active cases in Odisha while the death toll stands at 2,273.