DUSHANBE, February 14, Asia-Plus  -- Since the beginning of the year, 303 babies have died in Tajikistan, Shamsuddin Qurbonov, an official with the Ministry of Health (MoH), said in an interview with Asia-Plus.  

According to him, 246 of them were babies under one-year-old and 57 others aged 1 to 5.  “Compared to 2007 the infant mortality rate has not increased,” said Qurbonov, “However, over the first two months of this year, the rate of acute respiratory infection (ARI), bronchitis and pneumonia among children has increased 2.5 times compared to the same period of last year.”

The health official attributes increase in the rate of these diseases to the energy crisis and electricity shortages.