Trinidad: Bacterial inflection outbreak in PoS hospital, 7 premature babies die

Trinidad and Tobago: Seven (7) premature babies died following a bacterial outbreak at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Port-of-Spain General Hospital in the period between Thursday and Sunday last week.

The recent reports unveiled, that no new infections have been reported after Sunday, April 7, 2024, and unit stated that the sanitation and sterilization procedures were implemented in all affected and surrounding areas.

The control protocols for the treatment of late-onset neonatal sepsis have been implemented so that the severity of the situation can be combated. The diseases caused the havoc across the unit as it is the condition known for its rapid onset and potentially devastating effects.

With immediate effect, the unit has decided to close new admissions to prevent further transmission of the infection. The hospital authorities stated that they have discharged the healthy babies to ensure their safety and protection.

The measures have also been implemented with external contractors which included the clinical and non-clinical areas. NWRHA also announced the proactive measures and stated that the internal testing has been taking place in the unit and they also appointed external support from CARIRI for environmental testing.

The unit added that there was no infection after April 7, 2024, marking the positive results of the internal measures implemented to halt the spread of the bacteria. They expressed sadness over the death of the premature babies who died due to the infection caused by the bacteria and said that the unit has now been sanitized.

After the analyses, it was outlined that there was the presence of three different organism including Serratia marcesens, ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Klebsiella aerogenes. These organisms were known for their significant risks to vulnerable neonates.

Even after the high-dose antibiotics and intensive cardio-respiratory support, the infection took the lives of those babies who weighed under 1500 grams. Parents were given the regular updates of their conditions and the senior doctors were dealing with the issues.