Another tribal infant dies in Kerala's Attappady

Palakkad: In yet another incident of tribal infant death, a two-days-old girl child died due to cardiac ailments in a hamlet in Attappady here, one of the largest tribal settlements in Kerala.

 With this, the total number of infant deaths in this backward hamlet has risen to eight this year. The child, born prematurely to Valli and Shivadas hailing from Kolappady on June 6, died the next day, health department sources here said.

The child had only 1.3 kg birth weight and she was born with some defects in the heart valve, they said.

During last month alone, three newborns had died in the area.

Nodal officer for Attappadi Dr Prabhu Das said the number of children born with birth defects were on the rise in the region in recent times.

"Malnutrition had been a major reason for infant deaths in Attappady. But this year, there is an increase in number of children born with birth defects," he told PTI. He said the district health authorities have already requested the higher ups to conduct a specialised study to find out the exact reasons for this.

Attappady is one of the tribal settlements where a large number of infant deaths have been reported in the past several years.