THANJAVUR: In a bizarre incident, an 11-day-old

girl is struggling for life at the

(ICU) of the government medical college hospital at

after the infant was allegedly fed mercury mixed with betel leaf juice to clean her stomach. Paediatricians said the baby had hardly 10 % chances of surviving.

Hospital sources said that Sumithra, mother of the infant, is a native of

in

. She gave birth to the baby at the Government Hospital in Mayiladuthurai some days ago. After delivery, both the mother and baby were discharged from the hospital. Meanwhile, the infant’s maternal grandmother fed mercury mixed with betel leaf juice to the kid, thinking that the native treatment would clean her stomach.

However, the baby developed some ailments and was rushed to the Mayiladuthurai government hospital. From there, she was referred to the Thanjavur medical college where she has been undergoing treatment at the ICU. The condition of the baby was critical, hospital sources said. Paediatric surgeon Dr Prakash of the medical college hospital said he had not come across such a case. He said that the infant is in a critical condition with septicaemia due to

.

“It was shocking after coming to know about the incident as the maternal grandmother of the infant had fed mercury with betel juice as native treatment thinking it would clean the kid’s stomach. Now the condition of the kid is very critical”, he said. Doctors at the medical college have come across many such cases in the name of native treatment every day, Prakash said. He appealed to the parents to avoid such practices.