27/09/2012

Two Premature Babies Die In Hospital After Bug Outbreak

Two premature babies have died at a Staffordshire hospital as a result of an infection.

A third baby is still in isolation after the outbreak at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire (UHNS).

The serratia marcescens bug shut the unit to new admissions for two weeks in July, but details were only revealed at a hospital meeting on Wednesday.

The infection spread to four other premature babies who have since recovered.

The hospital in Stoke-on-Trent said parents whose babies had been discharged from the unit had "no need to worry".

Julia Bridgewater, UHNS NHS Trust chief executive, said: "The trust identified an infection in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in July, serratia marcescens, that can affect babies born extremely premature.

"Sadly, two babies who died, both born before 28 weeks, had this uncommon infection, and post mortems confirmed serratia marcescens as the cause of death."

(H)


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