Patna: A girl aged between one and five years is 46 per cent more likely to die than a boy of her age in Bihar, which shows the worst gender gap in child health among all states.

Bihar's female under-five mortality rate is 51, and 35 for males. This means that per 1,000 live births in the state, 51 girls die under five years of age as opposed to 35 boys.

The national average of under-five child mortality is 43, up from 39 in the year 2015.

These are among the findings of the Sample Registration Survey (SRS) for the year 2016 released four days ago.

"The gender gap in under-five mortality is highest in the country in Bihar. If we convert the figures into percentage, the SRS figure shows that there is 46 per cent higher mortality for the female child. The state government really needs to focus on this," said Dr Syed Hubbe Ali, health specialist with Unicef.

Ali, however, pointed out that the infant mortality rate - number of babies dying per 1,000 live births before they complete one year, the SRS 2016 data for which were released three months ago - had come down in Bihar.

"But still the gender gap in the infant mortality rate remains a concern," he added. "According to the SRS data of 2015, the male infant mortality rate in Bihar was 36 which has reduced to 31 as per the 2016 figure, and female infant mortality rate has too reduced from 50 in 2015 to 46 in 2016. However, you can find a good gender gap in the infant mortality rate as well."

The gender disparity reflects in admissions to the Sick Neonatal Care Unit at Patna Medical College and Hospital as well, said paediatrician Dr Nigam Prakash Narayan.