A five-day-old baby with only one eye had another harrowing experience when a cockroach tried to nibble the other eye, while the infant was warded in Kolkata, India.

However, timely intervention by the medical staff saved the newborn's cornea in the government-managed hospital, where the baby was undergoing treatment for multiple congenital anomaly (MCA).

According to Bernama, the male baby was suffering from MCA in the eye and was under medical care at the pediatric surgery department.

"The baby was born with one eye and was kept at the recovery room of the department after a surgery. One of our doctors found a cockroach nibbling at his eye.

"It was due to their timely action that the cornea could be saved and the baby is out of danger now," head of department of NRS (Nilratan Sircar) Medical College Dr Biswanath Mukhopadhyay was quoted as saying.

Fake pesticide

The medical chief lashed out at a pest control company, hired by the authorities, for the poor sanitary conditions of the hospital that led to the episode.

"The pest control agency hired by the hospital authorities is responsible for this incident. They spray fake insecticides in our department and as a result this place becomes a den of cockroaches.

"After surgery, the babies stay under the effect of anesthesia and mostly during this time cockroaches crawl over them.

"It is not always possible to keep a nurse or a doctor to drive away cockroaches in the wards," said Biswanath.

Reports stated this was not the first such case in the hospital.