Baby found in rubbish bin 'stable'

ABU DHABI // A newborn baby found abandoned in a rubbish bin was in stable condition at Al Rahba Hospital's neonatal intensive care unit yesterday. The boy, estimated to be between two and five days old, will undergo tests for infections before being transferred to a paediatric unit, said Dr Nellie Buma, Al Rahba's chief medical officer. The infant was found dehydrated in the bin on Corniche Street and taken to the Corniche Hospital on Abu Dhabi Island before being transferred to Al Rahba, which has neonatal cots.

Chest X-rays as well as blood and urine samples have been taken to test for infections such as septicaemia and pneumonia. "It is a sensitive and sad issue because a baby has been abandoned," said Dr Buma. "The baby is quite stable and is doing pretty well. He is in the neonatal intensive care unit for tests. If the tests for infection are negative, he will be transferred to the normal paediatric unit."

The tests were essential as hospital staff and police do not know what the child was "exposed to", she added. The infant's young age has prevented doctors from establishing his nationality. Abu Dhabi Police are trying to discover who his parents are. munderwood@thenational.ae * With additional reporting by Haneen Dajani