A 10-day-old baby girl is battling for life at a government hospital in Thanjavur after she was allegedly fed mercury mixed with betel leaf juice by her grandmother to treat stomach ache.

A doctor at the hospital said the infant was suffering from Septecemia due to mercury poisoning. Septecemia occurs when a bacterial infection elsewhere in the body, such as lungs or skin, enters the bloodstream. "The baby's maternal grandmother fed mercury with betel leaf juice (to the infant) leading to her critical condition," he said. The baby's mother said her child had developed stomach pain due to constipation after which the grandmother gave her the concoction. The baby was first treated at the Mayiladuthurai government hosiptal and then referred to the one in Thanjavur.