One child died today while 20 others are undergoing treatment in the hospital, he said.
Earlier, the Superintendent-cum-Vice Principal of the Malda Medical College Hospital M A Rashid had said that "the children, aged between 1-6 years, were admitted here with high fever, vomiting and convulsion on Thursday night. Eight of the children died in the past couple of days."
All the affected children hail from Kaliachak-I, Kaliachak-II and Kaliachak-III blocks of Malda district, officials said.
A team of specialists from School of Tropical Medicine in Kolkata visited the area today.
