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Four babies contracted
superbug
10.10.08
THE HSE has confirmed
that three babies tested positive for the MRSA
superbug at Letterkenny General Hospital over the
past two weeks. It has since emerged that another
baby, born at the hospital four months ago, tested
positive for the superbug the day after being
released.
“The hospital has informed the families and GPs of
the babies concerned, and the infection control
nurses and public health nurses are in contact with
them and will provide any advice and information
they need,” the HSE said in a statement. |
MRSA is an
antibiotic-resistant superbug that can be fatal if
it gets into the bloodstream. As the HSE does not
comment on individual cases, it is not known whether
the babies concerned had the infection on their skin
or bloodstreams.
The mother of the four-month |
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old baby who also
tested positive for MRSA the day after his discharge
has also been speaking about their ordeal.
She told the Irish Independent's Anita Guidera she
knew something was wrong when she took her newborn
home.
"I noticed a bad smell coming from his tummy button
and it didn't look like it was healing," she
recalled. She took her baby son back to the hospital
where the wound was swabbed and tested. The
following day she was contacted by her GP who
confirmed the MRSA infection which then spread to
the baby's eye, nose, throat and groin. "I was
gutted and didn't know where to turn. I didn't know
a baby could get MRSA," she said, complaining she
had been left in the dark about what to do. Around
eight weeks later, the hospital's Infection Control
unit gave her guidelines such as how to bathe her
infant. Meanwhile, the Donegal branch of the MRSA
and Families Network has asked what preventative
measures were put in place following the diagnosis
of MRSA in the baby during the summer. The
hospital's consultant microbiologist, Dr Michael
Mulherin, said staff had followed best practice
guidelines on dealing with MRSA. |
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