The spectre of infant deaths continued to haunt government hospitals in West Bengal, with 19 cases reported in Malda and Bankura over the past two days. While nine infants died in the Malda Medical College and Hospital, 10 children were reported dead in the Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital.

The babies who died in the Bankura hospital were “suffering from pneumonia and birth asphyxia, while some had low birth weight,” superintendent Panchanan Kundu said.