Seven infants have died in four days from a bacterial infection at Trinidad\u2019s Port of Spain General Hospital, said the island\u2019s health authorities.
\nThe Port of Spain General Hospital is the main health care facility in the island\u2019s capital city.
\nThe outbreak occurred at the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital, according to a release from the country\u2019s North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA), responsible for the hospital\u2019s management.
\nThe children died from late-onset neonatal sepsis, a condition known for its rapid onset and potentially devastating consequences, said the NWRHA.
\nAll the victims were children who were prematurely born at less than 32 weeks old and required intensive care support, the Trinidad health authorities said.
\nLaboratory investigations revealed there were at least three types of bacteria of concern in the ward, Serratia marcescens, ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Klebsiella aerogenes, said the NWRHA.
\n\u201cDespite administering high-dose antibiotics and providing advanced and intensive cardio-respiratory support, the infection claimed the lives of some of these preterm babies,\u201d the NWRHA said in a statement last night.
\nThe ward has been sprayed with chemicals to kill the bacteria, and the outbreak is contained with no new deaths since April 7th, said the NWRHA.
\nThe Trinidad government has asked the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to assist it in the investigation into the deaths of the infants, its health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh told the island\u2019s Parliament on Friday.
\nHe said the government wanted to probe what happened and, apart from its own internal investigation, it is seeking help from the regional body.
\n(Reuters)Infection. bacterial infection, neonatal intensive care unit, investigation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seven infants died in four days from a bacterial infection at Trinidad’s Port of Spain General Hospital. The outbreak occurred in the neonatal intensive care unit and the children who died were premature babies. The bacteria found in the ward were Serratia marcescens, ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Klebsiella aerogenes. Despite administering high-dose antibiotics and intensive care support, some of the babies did not survive. The ward has been treated with chemicals to kill the bacteria, and there have been no new deaths since April 7th. The Trinidad government has asked the Pan American Health Organization to assist in the investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6246,6249,1980,5292,3502,415,210,2990,156,6247,270,102,1419,1342,185,6250,1799,1220,1354,586,1827,1358,6248,2687,18],"class_list":["post-8032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-bacteria","tag-bacterial-infection","tag-chemicals","tag-children","tag-deaths","tag-government","tag-health","tag-health-minister","tag-hospital","tag-infants","tag-infection","tag-intensive-care","tag-investigation","tag-investigations","tag-main","tag-neonatal-intensive-care-unit","tag-parliament","tag-port","tag-release","tag-spain","tag-statement","tag-support","tag-trinidad","tag-victims","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n