Odisha Toddler Dies After Hot Cashew Seeds 'Treatment'

A two-month-old baby died of burn injuries today after hot cashew seeds were placed on his body in a belief that it would cure him from fever and stomach problems, doctors claimed. Doctors at the Nabarangpur District Headquarter Hospital said the baby, identified as Akash, was admitted there on January 13 and he was kept under observation. His condition was critical after sustaining burn injuries and he died this morning.

Akash, son of Biju Gond of Bharsundi village under Raighar block, was suffering from fever, cold, cough and stomach problems, the doctors said.

"The child had developed septicemia from the burns and then developed pneumonia. These led to his death," Head of Department (Paediatrics) at the district hospital Dharani Dhar Satpathy said.

His parents opted for "traditional treatment" and placed hot cashew seeds on his stomach and chest to cure him, doctors said.

However, the child sustained burns and the parents took him to hospitals at Raighar and Umerkote. But as the condition of the child was critical, the doctors referred him to District Headquarter Hospital in Nabarangpur, they said .

The child was admitted in the pediatric department of the district headquarter hospital and the doctors immediately began treatment. But his condition was critical and died after a week today, the doctors said.