The Tribune

By CHESTER ROBARDS

Tribune Senior Reporter

crobards@tribunemedia.net

THE OUTBREAK of a bacterial infection, which Princess Margaret Hospital administration had said had been contained in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, has reportedly spread to the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital, with four people being affected, according to sources inside PMH.

Those sources, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal from hospital administration, claimed top individuals at PMH knew the bacterium Acinetobacter Baumannii had spread to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), even as they held a press conference Tuesday to allay fears that the outbreak that killed two babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) might affect more babies or spread to other units.

“In terms of this infection going to spread ward to ward and we have a hospital full of people with Acinetobacter, I think that is highly unlikely to happen,” said the hospital’s Medical Chief of Staff, Dr Geoffrey Pennerman, during the press conference.

Dr Pennerman, said during the press conference that they still do not know how the bacteria entered the NICU.

He added that officials could not say if or when they would be able to determine the cause of the “outbreak.” He said it had been 16 years since the hospital last dealt with the bacterium Acinetobacter Baumannii.

Consultant Neonatologist, Dr. Steve Lochan, said during the press conference Tuesday that the first baby who had been 16 weeks premature, died from exposure to the bacteria on July 4th, and the second less than two weeks later. Dr Lochan said that it was after the first baby’s death that the workers in the NICU suspected that the Acinetobacter Baumannii was to blame for the death. And only after the second baby died and six others tested positive for the bacteria, did the hospital declare an outbreak.

After the outbreak was discovered, however, hospital administrators did not find it necessary to inform the public, said Dr Pennerman.

Health Minister Dr Perry Gomez told the media last week that he was not immediately informed of the outbreak. Dr. Gomez did not attend Tuesday’s press conference.

Dr Pennerman said the NICU has been aggressive in attempting to wipe out the existence of the bacteria. And Dr Lochan explained that of the six remaining babies exposed to the bacteria, only one remains on a ventilator.

Acinetobacter enters the body through open wounds, catheters, and breathing tubes. It usually infects those with compromised immune systems, such as the wounded, the elderly, children, or those with immune diseases.

Colonisation (when the bacteria is present on or in the person, but does not cause illness) poses no threat to people not already ill, but colonised health care workers and hospital visitors can carry the bacteria into neighbouring wards and other medical facilities. The number of non-social infections (hospital-acquired infections) caused by A. baumannii has increased in recent years, as have most other nosocomial pathogens.

One of the reasons is that the bacteria can live up to five months on undisturbed surfaces, depending on humidity levels.