Family mourns loss of newborn after it is attack by rats in hospital

Family told they 'need not worry as [they] have another son.'

A newborn died of rat bites in a government-ran hospital in the city of Vajayawada, located within the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Los Angeles, California (Catholic Online) - The newborn boy was born in the government-ran hospital where he was sent to the pediatric ward due to a lung issue.

He was kept in an incubator where his mother, Lakshimi, says, he "started crying. As we are not allowed to stand next to the incubator, I urged the nurses to check on him. By the time they did, rats had eaten away the fingers of his right hand and also the eye."

The infant was immediately transferred to the ICU, where he later died.

Lakshimi's husband, and father of the tragically killed infant, Chavali Nagaraju Babu claims the hospital told him "not to worry as [he has] another son."

The hospital was aware of the rodent infestation, states hospital chief Dr. Venugopala Rao. He told the Hindu Newspaper, "The  presence of rodents had come to our notice on Monday morning and I asked the engineering wing to carry out repairs to the false ceiling, but unfortunately the rodents attacked the newborn."

State health minister Dr. K. Srinivas has since ordered an inquiry into the unfortunate accident that led to the newborn's negligent death.

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