Branding of livestock with hot iron rods for identification purposes is a practice prevalent in many parts of the world. But have you heard of branding of infants with hot metal to cure them of ailments?
A 14 day old baby in the Boudh district of India's eastern state of Odisha is fighting for its life after a local “healer” branded his abdomen several times with hot metal to cure him of an unknown ailment. According to a local health worker, the infant had not been feeding properly and had developed a swollen belly. Instead of taking him to the hospital, the infant's grandmother called a “healer” to provide a traditional therapy of branding the infant's belly with a hot iron rod.
The health worker, during a door-to-door inspection noticed the ailing child and immediately took him to a hospital, where it was revealed that he had developed a serious infection due to the branding.
However, this is not an uncommon occurrence in Odisha. Families of newborns prefer this harmful traditional practice, despite the high rate of infant mortality in the area. In 2015-16, more than 20 cases of infant branding were reported. The actual number of cases is believed to be much higher but most incidences go unreported as locals see nothing wrong with this superstitious practice.
Infant iron branding in Nabarangpur: Collector forms 5-membr committee to probe the matter #Odisha pic.twitter.com/kHmHNrDWNn
— OTV (@otvnews) 25 января 2016 г.
District administration recently launched a massive anti-branding campaign to raise awareness among locals. District Magistrate Samrath Verma told Sputnik, "the government has launched many schemes to spread awareness and to sensitize mothers and doctors and traditional leaders towards the negative consequences of the practice. But the belief is so deeply rooted that such incidents continue to occur. It is a very challenging task as shaking the cultural beliefs of people is very difficult. But we are hopeful that our efforts will bear fruit someday."
