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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/04/fifteen-babies-infected-fluids-intravenous-drips
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| Fifteen babies poisoned by infected fluids from intravenous drip | Fifteen babies poisoned by infected fluids from intravenous drip |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| One newborn baby has died and 14 others are being treated for blood poisoning caused by bacteria from an infected batch of intravenous fluid distributed to a number of hospitals around the country. | One newborn baby has died and 14 others are being treated for blood poisoning caused by bacteria from an infected batch of intravenous fluid distributed to a number of hospitals around the country. |
| The affected babies were in neonatal intensive care units in six different hospitals. Most were premature and all were frail and very vulnerable. According to Public Health England, which is investigating the 15 cases, they were all given nutritional fluids into the bloodstream via a drip. The particular batch of fluids was contaminated with Bacillus cereus, a bacterium which is common on the surface of the skin but can cause septicaemia if it gets into the bloodstream. | |
| The surviving babies are said to be responding to antibiotic treatment. | The surviving babies are said to be responding to antibiotic treatment. |
| "This is a very unfortunate incident and PHE have been working closely with the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) to investigate how these babies could have become infected," said Prof Mike Catchpole, in charge of the investigation at PHE. | "This is a very unfortunate incident and PHE have been working closely with the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) to investigate how these babies could have become infected," said Prof Mike Catchpole, in charge of the investigation at PHE. |
| "Given that the bacteria is widely spread in the environment, we are continuing to investigate any other potential sources of infection. However all our investigations to date indicate that the likely source of the infection has been identified. We have acted quickly to investigate this issue alongside the MHRA and we have taken action to ensure that the affected batches and any remaining stock of this medicine is not being used in hospitals." | "Given that the bacteria is widely spread in the environment, we are continuing to investigate any other potential sources of infection. However all our investigations to date indicate that the likely source of the infection has been identified. We have acted quickly to investigate this issue alongside the MHRA and we have taken action to ensure that the affected batches and any remaining stock of this medicine is not being used in hospitals." |
| The fluids, which are given to babies too immature or weak to take nutrition by mouth, was manufactured by ITH Pharma Limited. PHE says the company has identified an incident at its factory which could have caused the contamination. | The fluids, which are given to babies too immature or weak to take nutrition by mouth, was manufactured by ITH Pharma Limited. PHE says the company has identified an incident at its factory which could have caused the contamination. |
| The hospitals involved are: Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust (4 cases), Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (3 cases), The Whittington hospital (1 case), Brighton and Sussex University hospitals NHS Trust (3 cases), CUH Addenbrookes (Cambridge University hospitals) (2 cases) and Luton and Dunstable University hospital (2 cases). | The hospitals involved are: Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust (4 cases), Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust (3 cases), The Whittington hospital (1 case), Brighton and Sussex University hospitals NHS Trust (3 cases), CUH Addenbrookes (Cambridge University hospitals) (2 cases) and Luton and Dunstable University hospital (2 cases). |
| An alert has been issued to all neonatal units in the country, although PHE says the batch has now expired and it believes there will probably be no more cases. | An alert has been issued to all neonatal units in the country, although PHE says the batch has now expired and it believes there will probably be no more cases. |