By CHESTER ROBARDS

Tribune Staff Reporter

crobards@tribunemedia.net

DIRTY air conditioning vents, overcrowding and the general hygiene of the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) may have led to the deaths of two babies and caused six more to fall ill, according to sources within the public health system.

After one month since the onset of the fatal bacterium Acinetobacter Baumanii in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of PMH, the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) has finally schedule a meeting with the media for today. The questions that have been asked to date, but have not been answered, are, "when was the bacterium detected and when did the first baby die?"

Minister of Health, Dr Perry Gomez, refused to talk to the Tribune Sunday and emails to the PHA were not replied to until the announcement of today's press conference.

While the outbreak in the NICU occurred almost one month ago (not an official time of outbreak), the PHA did not inform the public through the media until last Friday. 

In a press release issued Friday, hospital representatives explained that the outbreak had been contained, but not before affecting six other infants in the NICU.

There was a similar incident in 1996 when it is believed nine infants may have died.

The bacterium usually affects those with compromised immune systems. The hospital said that once the outbreak was discovered, all of the babies in the NICU were tested.

Dr Hubert Minnis, former Minister of Health and the leader of the Opposition, told this newspaper that he had been informed of the situation about two weeks ago and that he brought it up during the question and answer period in the House of Assembly on Wednesday.

“I asked (Minister of Health Dr Perry Gomez) to report on the situation, how many babies had died, how many were sick, what have they done to contain the infection, where are they relocating the babies to, who were in the NICU, and what they planned to do in the future to ensure that more babies don’t die,” he said.

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.s

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 nonsocial 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.

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