Medical staff in Swansea have announced that two new born babies died at the beginning of November after becoming infected with ESBL E Coli. Three other babies were infected with E Coli around the same time but survived.
The three non-fatal cases are not thought to be directly linked.
One baby, Hope Erin Evans, was very premature and died when just five days old. The second had already left hospital but caught the E Coli bug soon after birth. It is believed that the infection was passed on from one to the other, but only one baby actually caught E Coli at Singleton Hospital in Swansea.
It is thought that premature babies are particularly at risk due to a repressed immune system.
The maternity unit at the hospital is no longer being used for premature births, and all babies born there have reached full-term or longer. The maternity ward has since been ‘deep cleaned’ to remove all traces of E Coli.
Dr Bruce Ferguson, director of the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, said that the infection had been eradicated and no longer posed a threat. He also pointed out that the hospital ranked well for hygiene and had a very low history of infection levels, and that babies born at full term were not at risk.
The heath minister, Lesley Griffiths, and the Conservative health spokesman, Darren Millar, both passed on their condolences to the bereaved families. The Welsh Lib Dem leader Kirsty Williams said that the fatalities were a “terrible tragedy”.
Concerned mums-to-be can telephone a new E Coli helpline: 07747 615 627