Pennsylvania : Bacteria that killed 3 infants traced to hospital equipment
A Pennsylvania hospital said Friday it has discovered the source of a waterborne germ that sickened at least eight premature infants, killing three.
Geisinger Medical Center in Danville said the process it was using to prepare donor breast milk led to the deadly outbreak in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit.
Infection control specialists used DNA testing to trace the Pseudomonas bacterium to equipment used to measure and administer donor breast milk. Geisinger said it has since switched to using single-use equipment. Hospital officials stressed the milk itself was not the source of the exposure.
"We have had no new cases of infants becoming ill from pseudomonas in the NICU since making this change," Dr. Edward Hartle, Geisinger's executive vice president and chief medical officer, said in a statement.
Pseudomonas bacteria are common and often harmless but can pose a health risk in fragile patients.
Geisinger, which operates one of Pennsylvania's largest health networks, has been sending very premature newborns and some expectant mothers to other facilities while it investigated the outbreak. The hospital said it will continue doing so as it consults with state health officials on when it can resume normal operations.
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