India: Two newborns die after rat bites in hospital in Indore

Dubai: Two newborn babies have died last week after being bitten by rats inside the neonatal care unit of a government hospital in Indore, a city often hailed as one of India’s cleanest, according to The Independent and local reports.

The infants, admitted to Maharaja Yeshwantrao ( M. Y) Hospital with congenital conditions, died on consecutive days, the first last Tuesday and the second on Wednesday afternoon. 

Hospital officials confirmed that one baby had rat bites on his fingers, while the other had injuries to his head and shoulder.

Dr. Ashok Yadav, the hospital’s director, said one of the babies had been abandoned in Khargone district and transferred to Indore’s largest public facility. Despite the visible wounds, doctors insisted the deaths were caused not by the bites but by severe birth defects and related complications. One infant, they said, suffered from multiple abnormalities and died of sepsis after surgery.

“Seven days ago, our surgeons operated on her. She developed sepsis and her condition was critical,” said deputy superintendent Jitendra Verma. “Despite our best efforts, she passed away this afternoon. The cause of death was sepsis.” He described the rat bite on the child’s finger as “a minor scratch.”

The incident nonetheless caused public uproar after surveillance cameras captured rodents roaming freely in the ward, including one climbing across beds and medical equipment. 

Both infants were moved to another facility after the footage surfaced, but they did not survive.

In response, hospital authorities suspended two nurses and removed a senior supervisor from duty.