Jamaica battles hospital infections of klebsiella and serratia that have killed 19 babies in three months

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Jamaica battles hospital infections that have killed 18 babies in three months

Health minister forced to admit problem after parent goes public

Public urged not to panic over outbreaks of klebsiella and serratia
premature baby

Sandra Laville in Kingston
Tuesday 20 October 2015 17.02 EDT Last modified on Tuesday 20 October 2015 17.48 EDT

Jamaican authorities are struggling to cope with a hospital infection which has killed 18 babies in three months, the health ministry has announced.
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Dr Alison Nicholson, consultant medical microbiologist at University Hospital of the West Indies, one of the hospitals affected, urged the public not to panic.

She said the deaths were caused by two different bacterial infections, acquired in hospital since July. These were both common infections, klebsiella and serratia.
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The health minister, Dr Fenton Ferguson, told a press conference in Kingston that he only learned of the situation last Friday, the same day one of the parents of the babies talked to the media.

The public were only informed of the outbreak when he made his statement on Tuesday.

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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/20/jamaica-hospital-infections-killed-babies

 

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19th baby Dies

BY BALFORD HENRY Senior staff reporter balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

HEALTH Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson confirmed in Parliament yesterday that the number of baby deaths related to the current bacterial infection crisis has risen to 19.

In a statement to the House of Representatives, Dr Ferguson said that 483 babies have been admitted to hospitals? special care nurseries since the crisis started in June.

He said that 45 or 9.3 per cent have had their illnesses attributed to sepsis cases and total deaths have risen to 19, which is 42.2 per cent of the total.

He said that most of the babies who died as a result of Klebsiella and Serratia bacterial infections were less than seven months old, and weighed less than two pounds.
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http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/19th-baby-Dies

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UN rep awaiting official report on death of babies

BY STEVEN JACKSON Observer staff reporter jacksons@jamaicaobserver.com

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

BRUNO Pouezat, the United Nations Development Programme's resident coordinator in Jamaica, will await the findings of an investigation in the death of 19 babies at the University Hospital of the West Indies and Cornwall Regional Hospital before commenting further on the matter.

The incident offers implications for the ability of the country to attain developed nation status by 2030. This date also coincides with the UN's global sustainable development goals (SDG) deadline.

"My understanding is that, at the request of the Government, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) has taken up the investigation to collect and help the Government come up with a diagnosis of what happened. On this basis measures will be taken by the national authorities. Pending results of the investigation there is nothing more I can say," Pouezat stated in response to a Jamaica Observer query on its impact to attain reduced maternal deaths.

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http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/UN-rep-awaiting-official-report-on-death-of-babies