This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/hampshire/8063255.stm
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Infected mothers died naturally | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Two women who died from the same infection after giving birth at a Hampshire hospital died of natural causes, a coroner has recorded. | Two women who died from the same infection after giving birth at a Hampshire hospital died of natural causes, a coroner has recorded. |
| Jasmine Pickett, 29, and Amy Kimmance, 39, gave birth at Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester in 2007. | Jasmine Pickett, 29, and Amy Kimmance, 39, gave birth at Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester in 2007. |
| They died within 24 hours of each other from a group A streptococcal infection, days after being discharged. | |
| Coroner Grahame Short said there was no evidence the infection was contracted at the hospital. | Coroner Grahame Short said there was no evidence the infection was contracted at the hospital. |
| The two women both gave birth at the hospital on 21 December 2007, the inquests in Winchester heard. | |
| It is unusual these days for fit and healthy young women who have given birth to die within days of delivery Coroner Grahame Short | |
| Mrs Kimmance, who gave birth to a girl, Tessa, later died on 23 December. | |
| She had developed multiple organ failure caused by toxic shock syndrome from a group A streptococcal infection of the cervix, the inquest heard. | |
| Mrs Pickett, of Colden Common, who gave birth to a boy, Christopher, died the next day on 24 December. | |
| She died from multiple organ failure brought on by a sudden onset of severe pneumonia caused by group A streptococcal infection. | |
| Mr Short said both infections were unlikely to have been directly caught from a member of staff at the hospital. | |
| But he said they could have been indirectly caught from another patient, a visitor, a member of her family or someone in the local community. | |
| Tested positive | |
| During the inquest, the court heard the husband of Mrs Pickett, David, had himself suffered from infectious symptoms. | |
| He tested positive for a streptococcal infection four days after his wife's death. | |
| The following day he began to show deteriorating symptoms including sore throat, muscle ache, fevers, lethargy and dry cough. | |
| But Mr Pickett told the inquest he had only begun to feel unwell on 27 December, after his wife's death. | |
| The inquest was also told that the community midwife Christine Craze and hospital registrar Dr Emma Torbe both tested positive for the streptococcal infection several days after the mothers' deaths. | |
| Mr Short said: "It is unusual these days for fit and healthy young women who have given birth to die within days of delivery. | |
| He said the infection was a common bacterium found in the community, which had been prevalent in the area in December 2007. | |
| "It was a particularly virulent strain that attacked both ladies and fortunately it is rare for the streptococcus to be quite so vehement," he added. | |
| Mr Short said he would write to the Health Protection Agency calling for national guidelines to be created for the management and investigation of such infections. |