Parents claim earlier MRSA case

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A couple have claimed their premature baby contracted MRSA at a hospital's neo-natal unit, seven months before an outbreak was announced.

A lawyer representing the family said the baby became infected at the Royal Blackburn Hospital's neonatal unit in February.

"We would have to question why steps taken by the trust in September were not taken earlier," she said.

A hospital spokeswoman denied there had been an outbreak of MRSA in February.

"I can categorically say that before the outbreak in September we did not have an outbreak of MRSA in February," said Rineke Schram, the hospital's medical director.

The trust's medical director said the family had not been in touch

She added that the hospital had not been approached by either the family or their solicitor over the matter.

Lawyer Lindsay Wise, who is in talks with the family, said: "We are appealing to the trust for full disclosure on the timing of the outbreak of MRSA at the unit.

"The allegation we are investigating would appear to contradict reports in the media this week that the unit was shut immediately when the infection was first identified in mid-September."

Screening babies

Six babies have tested positive for the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) strain of MRSA and are currently being kept in separate areas of the hospital.

The East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust confirmed that the mother of one of the babies was also being treated on one of its wards for the superbug.

The hospital has begun screening babies for any signs they are carrying the organism on their skin and said they planned to re-open the unit once it was sure that all tests were negative.

The unit was shut when the infection was first identified in mid-September, but the closure has only just been made public.