Seven children die from bacterial infection at Trinidad hospital

[April 13, 2024]  By Curtis Williams

(Reuters) -Seven infants have died in four days from a bacterial infection at Trinidad's Port of Spain General Hospital, said the island's health authorities.

The Port of Spain General Hospital is the main health care facility in the island's capital city.

The outbreak occurred at the neonatal intensive care unit of the hospital, according to a release from the country's North West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA), responsible for the hospital's management.

The children died from late-onset neonatal sepsis, a condition known for its rapid onset and potentially devastating consequences, said the NWRHA.

All the victims were children who were prematurely born at less than 32 weeks old and required intensive care support, the Trinidad health authorities said.

Laboratory investigations revealed there were at least three types of bacteria of concern in the ward, Serratia marcescens, ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Klebsiella aerogenes, said the NWRHA.

"Despite administering high-dose antibiotics and providing advanced and intensive cardio-respiratory support, the infection claimed the lives of some of these preterm babies," the NWRHA said in a statement last night.

The ward has been sprayed with chemicals to kill the bacteria, and the outbreak is contained with no new deaths since April 7th, said the NWRHA.

The Trinidad government has asked the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to assist it in the investigation into the deaths of the infants, its health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh told the island's Parliament on Friday.

He said the government wanted to probe what happened and, apart from its own internal investigation, it is seeking help from the regional body.

(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Aurora Ellis)

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